Over the Edge: Book One
by IVolunteerAsAuthor
Summary: It's President Snow's eighth year in power, and a secret group called the Bureau is wanting to take him down. Who is this mysterious group? What are their plans? Add the first Quarter Quell, and Snow has a lot of things on his plate. It just might push him over the edge.
1. The Disappearance of Cassidee Schapp

**Cassidee Schapp, 29**

 **Executive Cabinet Member**

* * *

Of course being a woman in a man-dominated world gets me the shittiest jobs that Snow has to offer. Constantly fighting for the attention of the man that I've worked so hard for, and for so long is one of the hardest things that I could ever possibly imagine doing. I've done everything for him, worked with him since the Patriots, and now I'm having to come and play babysitter to District 13. I won't be here long; maybe a week is the answer I got from Snow, but it's cringey down here. Not to mention the fact that everyone is so pale they look like mole people.

The hovercraft lands on the site of one of the country's biggest secrets, and I hear the engine cut off. I unbuckle my seatbelt and strut over to the landing dock where Allistar sits waiting to escort me to the entrance of the forgotten district.

"Cassidee, you're looking gorgeous today," says Allistar, looking me up and down.

"Shut up, Allistar. We have a mission to do. I'm here on business."

I have to pretend to be diplomatic and serious during these moments, but the truth is I like the attention I get. I know I'm an attractive lady, and I know that I have a lot going for me in life. Maybe if things don't work out for Snow, I could be the next President even. So even though I secretly like Allistar's advances, and want nothing more than to kiss him on the mouth right now, I'll refrain.

We walk off the loading dock and down on the ground. The ground is soft, but I wasn't expecting it to be firm after the explosion we put it through twenty-four years ago. Allistar leads me to a rock where he touches it in several places before the hologram disappears and the door to the downstairs area of the District is revealed. I lean over to the passcode pad and type in the numbers "0130", and the lock clicks open to reveal a set of stairs, and a smiley man looking at us from the midway point. He looks to be in his mid-twenties.

"Ms. Schapp, we're honored to have you here. My name is Elijah Delgadillo, and I'm the mayor of District 13."

"Aren't you a little young to be a mayor?"

The young man is clearly from Latin America. He has long black hair and dark eyes. He has a nice build, and I think he gets his eyebrows plucked. He's a very attractive man. He looks surprised at my question and clears his throat. "Aren't you a little young to be in the Cabinet?"

"Fair enough," I say with a smile, beginning my walk down the stairs and shake his hand. He smiles as he leads me down to the main hallway that connects all the floors.

"Let's start this tour, shall we?" he ask with a bright smile.

* * *

 **Elijah Delgadillo, 30**

 **Mayor of District 13**

* * *

She's onto us. She has to be onto us. She works with Snow for crying out loud. She has to be trained to see through certain scenarios, and I'm not a good liar.

"This floor is our hospital wing," I tell her. We've walked through a number of floors, and it's been uncomfortably silent in most areas. She's just been taking notes on a tablet as she continues to follow me through the maze that is our giant bunker. I'm expecting her to pull a gun on me any minute, but so far everything is going according to plan.

We are kidnapping Cassidee Schapp.

We know a number of things about her, but one of the most important is how close she is to the President. The Bureau placed her as not only the easiest target to take out but the easiest to replicate. She isn't taken seriously by the other board members due to her need for attention. Kora will easily slip through undetected as she gets information back. We want to take down Snow and restore power back to the Mercay family. Intel tells us that they have some cousins that would fit the presidency nicely.

"How do you keep sickness contained?" Casidee asks as we continue to walk through the wing. She has yet to look up from her tablet, but something tells me that her eyes are darting all over the room.

"We don't. We had a pretty bad strand of the flu that swept through the whole District. We had around thirty fatalities."

She looks up at that surprised. Something like the flu killing off people is out of grasp for the spoiled Capitol princess. She's had everything handed to her ever since she was a kid. So her surprise not only irritates me but makes me feel a lot wiser than her.

"The flu? That's completely preventable."

"Not with the budget we get. Our remodels are pricey, and our District is growing fast. We can't exactly quarantine the sick here. Everyone is on the same ground, breathing the same air, we don't have the resources to heal quickly."

Cassidee turns around, and it's at this moment that Kora and Borgan take out her bodyguard. I hear a light struggle, but it doesn't seem to catch Cassidee's attention. This mission will go off without a hitch if it continues at this pace. Borgan pulls out a sedative, and injects it into the man who tries to yell for Cassidee to run, but is unsuccessful.

After they get him settled Kora grabs the other sedative and begins her walk towards Cassidee, but when she gets about five feet away, the President's Cabinet member swings around pointing a gun at her.

"I've realized you've been following me for about five floors now. What is going on here?"

Kora and I freeze as Cassidee's demeanor has changed from a needy teenage girl to ruthless and cutthroat woman. She holds up three fingers and looks Kora in the face. "I'll give you three seconds to tell me before I shoot you," she says. "One," she puts a finger down, "two," she puts another finger down. Before she reaches three, though, she pulls the trigger and Kora falls to the floor with a bullet in her head. She points the gun at me and smiles politely. Her perfectly straightened white teeth are shining in the harsh florescent lighting that we have underground.

"I think I'll skip the counting on you," she says. "Pity, you were nice eye candy," she says as she sticks out her bottom lip.

I close my eyes and prepare for the worst, when all of a sudden, I hear a loud crash. I open my eyes to see Emily Coin standing above Cassidee with a metal bedpan in her hand. Cassidee is knocked out cold on the ground.

"Emily?!" I ask, surprised. "How did you do that?"

Emily takes a deep breath and looks at me. "I'm only telling you this because you're the mayor, and because right now, we are breaking at least ten different federal laws. My name isn't Emily Coin. My name is Katherine Farrow, and I won the 17th Hunger Games."

 **No thunder and lightning isn't over. I just needed to write something by myself without having to clear everything with Jenna. Not that Jenna is hard to work with, it's just hard to get an okay when I have the motivation to do it, and by the time I hear back from her, I have no more motivation to write it. xD**

 **The form and rules will be at the top of my profile, please don't be "that reader" and not follow the rules. They're very simple, and I'm not a needy author. So yeah, that wraps this up.**

 **Keep it classy,**

 **Caleb**


	2. The Bureau

**Katherine Farrow, 27**

 **Victor of the 17th Hunger Games**

* * *

I should have let him die. Everything inside of me screamed to stay out of the way. To tuck me in the closet in the hallway and just watch the scene pan out. I've done enough, I've seen enough.

From the time I was born, I was destined for chaos. I had a few blissful years in the academy, and then everything after that went to hell. With mom being a druggie, dad taking her back, me volunteering and winning the games, and let's not get started on this live action chess match I had going on with President Snow for a year. Clyde and Alma are all I have left, and I'm not even supposed to have him. He was supposed to die in the 17th games.

"Elijah?"

They brought me to a room that is hidden in the lower bunker of 13, past the bomb shelters and all of the safety rooms. We took an elevator I didn't even know existed, and now I see a ton of computer screens shining at me. Cassidee sits gagged and tied up to a chair at the meeting table, and looking around everywhere taking everything in. She's mumbling a whole bunch of things through the gag in an angry voice that I'm not sure is appropriate. Elijah sits at the other end of the meeting table looking worried. He also is mumbling to himself.

"This is bad, this is really bad. This couldn't have gone any worse."

"Can I know what the hell is going on? Why did we try to sedate a member of the government? Why am I sitting in a bunker? What the hell happened to the other guy that was walking with her-"

"Emily- I mean Katherine, please," says Elijah. "I just need a minute."

I roll my eyes and walk over the Cassidee and sit next to her. She glares at me, and then motions for me to take the gag out of her mouth. Me not knowing which side I'm really on at the moment decide that it's better to play both sides. At least until I know the whole story. I grab the gag and take it out of her mouth and she instantly begins bargaining with me.

"Untie me, and I promise you'll get out of this unscathed," she says giving me a sympathetic look. "Please, I'm scared."

"Sweetheart, you're talking to the girl that invented the damsel in distress act. I've seen you holding your own. You're just mad that you got bested."

Her eyes narrow and she gives me a confusing look. She looks me up and down and then takes a sharp intake of breath as she finally recognizes me. Her jaw begins to drop and then she begins to laugh uncontrollably. When she finally is able to calm herself down, she looks at me smiling and smirks.

"Ms. Farrows, long time no see. Those highlights really suit you," she makes a snarky face. "Then again, they kind of give off the 'I'm a hoe vibe', not that you needed to add to that."

"Funny, because my time in the Capitol I heard you were always the one getting tied up." I wink at her and smile. "I see that you're sticking to the trend."

Elijah had stopped mumbling and I didn't notice until just now. He was watching us. Our interactions, our body language. "You two know each other?" he asks looking at us intrigued. Cassidee rolls her eyes and crosses her legs. She looks to the side and doesn't say anything.

"We knew each other when the Mercay's were still in power. Cassidee was trying to break into politics, and I guess after Snow took over she slept her way to the top." she flips her head at me with an intensity that surprises even me.

"I'M NOT SLEEPING WITH HIM! SOME BITCH NAMED PRINCESS IS. I'M THERE ON MY OWN MERIT!" she screams.

I try not to chuckle because it was always easy to get under her skin. She is a smart girl, but she always played emotional rather than logical. In order to be the type of person, Cassidee wants to be you have to be strong. You have to be a rock. Cassidee is more like a flimsy piece of cardboard that was left out on a rainy day.

"Could have fooled m-" I start when a computer switches on, and a very pretty girl appears on the screen. She is Hispanic as well if I'm remembering my history of the world before Panem correctly, she looks Venezuelan.

"Elijah I got the message! What's the SOS?" she says worriedly. There is something about her that is charismatic and exciting. Even when she's worried I can tell that this girl is bubbly. When she sees me and Cassidee in the room her demeanor changes, though.

"Elijah, what the hell is Cassidee doing in the room?! You just blew my cover!" she says looking scared.

"Yeah, about that," he says. "That's the SOS."

"PRINCESS?! WHAT IS GOING ON?!" screams Cassidee now squirming from the ropes. She's hurting herself and you can see that she's causing herself harm as she is wiggling the ropes, but I know untying her would be a bad move.

"I'd also like to know what is going on." I chime in.

"Look, I don't know who the hell you are," says the girl I still don't know what her name is, "But I'm not saying anything until at least she is not in the room."

"Well what am I supposed to do?!" ask Elijah upset.

"Maybe you shouldn't blow a cover I've worked 7 years to complete!" screams the pretty girl on the screen.

I roll my eyes and look at Cassidee as she looks horrified. "That's her. That's the President's mistress." I stifle a smile as I bend down low to be even with her. I look her in the eye with a super condescending look and put my hand on her shoulder.

"Trust me," I began. "This is going to hurt you A LOT more than it's going to hurt me." I pull my fist back and slam it into the side of her jaw. She slumps down in her chair out cold, and I cross around to the computer screen with the pretty girl on it. "Hi," I say. "I'm Katherine Farrow, winner of the 17th Hunger Games. I saved Mr. Mayor over here from a bullet to the brain, and would like to know what the heck happened."

"What happened to Kora and Borgan?" asked the girl nervously.

"Borgan is getting rid of the body of Cassidee's body guard…" says Elijah.

"And Kora?" she urges him to continue.

"Kora got killed," I interject. I could tell by the look on Elijah's face that he was uncomfortable with the situation and telling whoever this was about the death of Kora. He looks at me with an appreciative look and then back at the girl on the screen who looks like her world was just crushed. She has a single tear fall from her face, and then wipes it off.

"The mission has to continue," she says nodding. "Grieve later, figure out a plan b now."

"What mission?" I ask, at this point I'm determined to get my questions answered.

"We're something called the Bureau." starts the girl. "We are a group that is devoted to taking down the Snow family from the seat of power they so unrightfully grabbed onto. I'm undercover. My name is Jesse, but don't call me Jessica. I hate that. Here though, my name is Princess. I infiltraded by coming with the group of nuclear scientist that go to the Capitol every year to show what we've been working on to the President. I didn't go as a scientist, even though I am one, but as a wife to one. It took a year to build the trust, but I'm now his mistress. Slip that man enough scotch and sings like a canary."

"We've gotten a lot of valuable information from what Jess manages to get out of him." continues Elijah. "We got so much that we thought sending in another agent surrounding the President would be useful to intel. This operation has to move slowly. Kora was supposed to be the other person we used, but after her death, we're short an agent."

He walks over to the wall and pulls a mask with blonde hair out of one of the drawers and when he holds it up I almost scream. It looks just like Cassidee. I turn around just to make sure he didn't actually cut her face off as we were talking.

"Kora was going to have to become Cassidee. We decided that out of all of the people that are in the President's pocket, Cassidee would be the easiest as she wasn't taken seriously anyways. So I made sure that it was her that was going back to thirteen for a routine check." says Jesse. Her eyes fly open as she stares at me. "OH MY GOSH!" she squeals. "Elijah, does she or does she not look like Kora in body form?"

Elijah looking at me up and down and then smiles. "Yeah, she does," he says.

"And why did we choose Kora?"

"Because she had a frame like Cassidee?" he answers curiously. Then he looks at me the same way with his eyes flying open. "EMILY! I mean, Katherine! You have to go be Cassidee!"

"I have a husband and a kid. I can't just run off into the Capitol trying to save the planet! I've been there, bought that t-shirt, and have no reason to go back to fighting the president."

"Cassidee will have to die if you don't." says Jessica sternly.

I pause, I might not like Cassidee, but I don't want death to come to her. I understand why she'd have to die too. It's too risky to keep her alive down here. She'd have to go missing. Maybe get her hovercraft shot down, some crazy freak accident.

"What would I have to do?" I ask.

"You have a week to learn all that you can about Cassidee Schapp. Something that Kora had a year to do. Let's put all that training to the test." says Jesse with a smile.

 **Well, I hope some questions were answered. Continue to submit! I have 8 submissions, and it kind of breaks my heart.**

 **Keep it classy,**

 **Caleb**


	3. The Mission

**Cassidee Schapp**

 **Cabinet Member**

* * *

Last week I was sitting in my penthouse with a view of the city. Everything was great and beautiful, and my life made sense. Today, I sit in an interrogation cell watching myself in the reflective surface as Elijah and Katherine plan what to do from the other side. How did I let this happen to myself?

My whole life I wanted nothing more than to be successful. To stick it to my good for nothing parents who were always telling me I couldn't make it, to show them that their daughter was something more than a pretty face. I finally make it, and shove it in their faces, and now I'm probably going to die. I can see it now.

 _Cabinet Member Cassidee Schapp dies in freak hovercraft accident_

The door opens and Katherine and Elijah walk in. Katherine looks unimpressed, and Elijah is carrying some kind of a machine. It's about the size of a shoebox, and it has a tiny wire that is sticking off of the back of it. He sets it down on the table and smiles. Katherine sits across from me at the table and waits for instructions on what to do next.

"Do you know what this is, Cassidee?" asks Elijah with a smile.

"I don't know, Elijah, but I'm sure you'll tell me anyways," I say with an acid undertone.

He smiles and extends his hand. I hesitate because I still don't know what this machine is, but I eventually place my hand in his. He puts my index finger to the base of the wire that sticks out from the back, and when my finger makes contact with it swallows it. I jump, but Elijah holds me still. I feel a prick in my finger that causes me to yelp, and I know what it is.

"It's a lie detector we've been building in the Capitol. I'm sure Princess got you this lovely trinket."

"She does her job well. Katherine will take a quiz on you, and every question you have to tell her if she's right or wrong. If she's right, and you lie a tiny electric volt will shoot through your body. If she's wrong, and you lie, expect the same thing to happen. You're one of the people that approved this machine, so better not lie. You know what it will do. Katherine, turn it on low. Cassidee tell us a lie."

"My name is Cassiopeia- OUCH!"

Katherine is grinning across the table as she sits back and crosses her legs. "Oops, I thought that was low." Elijah rolls his eyes and grabs the remote away from Katherine and switches it to a low setting. Katherine frowns but knows that she needs to take this seriously.

"What's Cassidee's favorite color?" ask Elijah as he looks at Katherine who shrugs her shoulders.

"Probably pink."

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

"Not bad, just typical," she says as she begins to twirl her hair in between her middle and index finger. She's nervous, and why wouldn't she be? She is about to take on one of the world's most powerful and dangerous men. He let her live last time out of respect for how well she played and almost out played him. I don't see that happening again.

"How does it feel to know you might die very soon, Katherine?"

She glares at me and immediately stops twirling her hair. She's probably beating herself up right now because she gave me a tell. One tell is all I need to start to wear her. I might be stuck telling the truth about my life, but at least for now I have her exactly where I want her.

"I don't know, Cassidee. Why don't you tell me?" she asks in an antagonizing tone.

"You lot won't kill me," I say confidently.

"Why is that?" ask Elijah.

"You need me," I say confidently. "If Katherine fails, you'll need someone to barter with to get her back. He's less likely to kill her if I'm alive. Maybe you could be my avox after I return to the Capitol. I always thought the world where Katherine Farrow was unable to speak would be a better one." I say with a sly grin. "But by all means ask the next question."

Katherine rips the sheet of paper from Elijah's hand, and Elijah tries to get it back. Katherine dead arms him, and he sits back down as he puts his hand over his face. "You want the next question?" she asks. "Where is your dad, Cassidee?"

I freeze. Only for a split second, but she was looking for it so I'm sure she knows. I'm not feeling so confident anymore, and I pray that I don't wear it on my face. "You're a transfer, right? You are originally from Panem in Australia, but there were more opportunities over here for a young and beautiful girl like you. So you left that country after working yourself to the bone to gain the clearance to do so."

"What's that have to do with it?" I ask.

"You go back every two months and visit a prison. Do you visit a man named Amos Schapp? Tell me Cassidee what's a high-class girl like yourself doing visiting a prison?"

Tears are welling up in my eyes and I can't focus straight right now. She has no business knowing that. That's not even something that someone would know back in the Capitol. No one would ask about him.

"You're asking about him to be cruel. No other reason!" I say. "Tell me, is this a chance to get to know more about me, or are you just being a bitch, Katherine?"

"Answer the question, Cassidee." says Katherine.

"No!" I say

She reaches for the remote and presses the button on the electric cord. An electric shock flies through my body, and I start to convulse. She doesn't let go of the trigger for at least six seconds before Elijah rips it out of her hands and shoves her down.

"THAT'S ENOUGH KATHERINE!" he screams.

Katherine sits on the ground and blows her hair out of her face. She hits the wall and screams. "I didn't want this!" she screams. "All I did was save your life, and now I'm dealing with a girl that I don't like. I'm having to leave my daughter, my husband, my life that I've finally gotten used to living all for this purpose to keep her alive!" she yells pointing at me. "If I want to know why she visits a prison, I deserve to know."

"My mother was a vile woman," I say. "She was abusive. She was a drunk, and she was always taking her drunken rage out on me. My dad did his best, but she would always threaten to kill herself when he would try to leave. When he would try to leave she would go straight to the knives and we would always have to call the paramedics." tears start to well up in my eyes as I continue. "It got really bad one night...my mom was choking me. I couldn't move I was young. I was pinned, and my vision was blurring when all of a sudden it just stopped. I-I woke up with my mom's body on top of me and there was a knife in her back...my dad sat in the corner. He was arrested that night."

Tears are pouring, and I put my head down and sob. A hand appears on my shoulder and I immediately want to recoil, but it isn't a vicious touch that I'm feeling. It's a comforting one. When I open my eyes, Katherine stands over me. We make an uncomfortable eye contact before she pulls a chair out from the table and sits across from me.

"My mother was a drug addict. Coke was her choice. She kept it in a golden locket that she hung around her neck, and I was always so jealous of that thing. She called it her favorite child." She looks at the wall resentfully. "One day she passed out on the couch, and me being the rebellious five-year-old I always was, took it from her hand. I ended up losing it that day, and when she woke up she went on a withdrawal rampage. She killed all four of my siblings. I was the last survivor. I'm sorry that your mom was shitty. No child deserves that." she says.

"Well, I'm sorry about your mother as well," I respond.

"I don't want you to die, Cassidee," she says. "But if you want to be able to not die, I need you to work with me."

I look in her eyes and I know she's genuine. I've seen her try to charm her way out of situations with people, and this isn't one of those times. The girl is savvy in a social way, but she isn't heartless. She takes my hand and smiles, and I roll my eyes.

"I guess I'm damned if I do, and damned if I don't," I respond. "You better be able to protect me," I say looking at Elijah. He nods and looks at me, and then I open my mouth to start talking, but before I can Katherine presses the release on the cord.

"We need to trust each other."

"You do," says Elijah. "Especially because you'll be posing as Katherine."

"WHAT?!" we both say in unison. Our jaws our basically on the floor as Elijah just grins back.

* * *

 **President Snow**

* * *

"Citizens of Panem, as you know, we have been in a great peace after the Hunger Games have taken place. This year marks the 25th Anniversary of the first Hunger Games. We have decided to call this event the Quarter Quell. There will be a special twist that goes along with the games for every twenty-fifth year. This year's Quarter Quell is…" I open up the envelope and smile at the camera. The Mercays might have been idiots, but they were brilliant in the art of twist. "The District will vote two children into the arena. A girl and a boy."

I walk off the platform and leave the crowd to gasp and discuss our plan.

 **I have no idea how much prologue I'll do. I just enjoy it a lot tbh. Leave a review. Send a submission.**

 **Keep it classy,**

 **Caleb**


	4. Goodbyes

**Katherine Farrow**

 **Agent for the Bureau**

* * *

"Clyde, this is Cassidee!" I say walking into the front door of my house. I take my coat off and hang it on the coat rack when Alma runs into the room.

"Mommy!" she screams

She runs towards me and jumps into my arms as I give her a giant hug. Cassidee smiles at us from the doorway of the apartment type compound we've been staying in. I set Alma down and usher her into her room to go play with her dolls when I see Clyde enter into the living room. I walk over and give him a quick peck on the lips.

"Clyde," I begin, "Do you think she's pretty?" I ask pointing to Cassidee. She looks at me confused, and Clyde does an uncomfortable laugh as he can tell this question isn't going away.

"There isn't a right answer to that," he mumbles to himself. "Don't answer it."

"I just ask because for a little while she's going to have to be me," I say super nonchalant and quickly as I drop the subject altogether and walk into the kitchen. I hear Cassidee take a sharp intake of breath as she wasn't expecting it to be so blunt of an introduction.

"I thought we agreed to go about this subtly?" she questions as she follows into the kitchen. Clyde stands in the door of the kitchen staring at me confused. He opens his mouth to say something, and then closes it and looks off into the distance. It's quiet between the three of us, the only sound you can hear is that of Alma playing with her dolls in the other room.

"Run that by me again?" ask Clyde confused.

We explain everything. From the kidnapping of Cassidee to Elijah and the Bureau, to me being sucked back into this crazy game with President Snow. It's almost like fate. No matter how hard I try to avoid him, our lives keep getting intermingled with each other. We're like magnets that are constantly pulling at one another.

"Kat, that's crazy," says Clyde after I finish explaining. He looks over at Cassidee knowing full well that if I don't do this she'll have to die. "No offense, I'm sure you're a really...lovely person. I just can't let you go off and play hero again, Kat. We left that part of our lives. We're happy. We're finally in a place where Alma is safe. I don't know why you'd want to jeopardize that."

That's the thing. He isn't lying, and deep down I know I messed a lot of things up. The problem is a girl like me was never supposed to live in a place like this. Growing up in District 1 I had everything handed to me on a silver platter, the only thing I had to work for was training, and even then I worked to stay in the middle of the academy scoring system. I was not meant to be a bird in a cage. I was meant to have so much more than a life in District 13, and I was mad about it. Don't get me wrong. I love Clyde, I love Alma. But I think I have a right to be angry. It was eight years ago that Snow killed Bryley and Imogen and took over. Eight years of my having to adjust to this new life, and to be honest when I saw Cassidee something in my just snapped.

"No Clyde, you are happy," I say. "I was never meant for this. I'm not the girl that comes with no strings attached. I'm impulsive, quick witted, and fiery. Everything I do I do for the better of not only me and you, but for Alma. Clyde, I want out of this hell hole. I want to be able to feel the sun on my face, to see what rain looks like again! I want Alma to grow up with everything she can possibly get, and she won't get that here."

He looks hurt like I destroyed everything he thought we had, and I didn't want to be awful, it's just one of those things that once it starts piling up, it spills over everywhere.

"How do we even know she'll stay?" ask Clyde looking at Cassidee.

"Because I have something that every single person in the Capitol has: the desire for self-preservation," she says. I almost forgot Cassidee was there with how into the conversation I was with Clyde.

"Not to mention you'll have this," I say. I hand him a tiny tablet like device that fits into the palm of your hand. He looks at it curiously. On it is a blue dot that is blinking back and forth. Cassidee frowns as I grab her wrist and show it to Clyde. There is a black bracelet about the width of a surgical tube around her wrist. It has a lock that clamps it shut that only my voice will open. Inside of the bracelet is a tracker.

"That bracelet sends out a GPS signal that gets picked up by this tablet. If she tries to make a run for it, it sounds an alarm for the district. The bracelet also blocks her from using mobile devices. She's stuck here permanently Clyde."

"What do I tell Alma?" he asks me.

I swallow hard. That's been the question I haven't been wanting to answer. Doing the drills is easy. Planning for time away is easy. Risking your life is easy. Telling your kid why you're doing it all is not so easy. She's so innocent, but honestly, I wouldn't do this if it wasn't for her. She's my everything.

"You won't have to. I will."

"When do you leave?" he asks me.

"Tomorrow morning," I say.

I walk out of the kitchen and down the hall of our apartment. Alma sits in her room playing with a doll. She is having them get married, and they are currently walking down the aisle.

"Mom, you're doing it again." she says when she notices me standing in the doorway.

"Doing what?"

"Staring at me. It's creepy," she says as she starts to brush the girl dolls hair.

I laugh as I walk into the room and sit on the bed. I pat the spot next to me telling her to come and join me. She gets up but continues to brush her dolls hair. As she sits on the bed, I begin to have tears well up in my eyes. This is going to be a lot harder than I thought it would be.

"Alma, mommy has to talk to you about something."

She looks up at me and sits the doll down on the bed next to her. She then touches me leg while giving me a confused look. "What's wrong, mommy?" she asks me.

"Mommy has to go away for awhile," I say. I figure ripping the band-aid would be a lot better than dragging this out. "I'll be back soon, but I have some things I have to take care of," I say. "You'll get to hang out with my friend Cassidee, but she's going to pretend to be me."

"Why is she going to do that?" ask Alma confused.

"All you need to know is it's a secret, and you can't tell anyone," I say as I push her long bangs behind her ears. I really should have cut those last week.

"Okay, I'll play secret with you, mommy," she says as she gives me a hug. "Wherever you go bring me something fun."

"When I get back you can have whatever you want, sweetheart," I say as I pull her in for a hug and kiss her on the head. Clyde knocks on the door, and before I know it we are all wrapped in one big hug on Alma's bed. He sits behind me with his arms around me, who has my arms around Alma. He kisses my shoulder and whispers in my ear, "We are in this together."

"Together," I respond as I take in every bit of this moment.

 **Well, I have one more prologue planned, and that should be out by Tuesday! The deadline for tribute submissions is the 23rd.**

 **Also, there's been some confusion as to who Katherine is. Katherine was a tribute in my story At Wits End. She was in the 17th games and won. She then was in the story Journey to the Top, and now she's here. Those two stories explain literally everything about her, and where she is.**

 **Keep the subs coming!**

 **Keep it classy,**

 **Caleb**


	5. J&A Media

**The tribute list is at the bottom of the page. Read this chapter, though, you'll be seeing quite a number of these characters that are in here. They're two of my favorites.**

* * *

 **Jada Mastiff**

 **President of J &A Media**

* * *

"Well you can remind Mr. Cochran that I have no interest in waiting any longer. He told me he would have those prints today, and if he can't get me them by today I expect his resignation by then. No questions asked."

Clicking the end button on the phone, and looking around this office I can't help but smile. Yes, I know that was harsh, but in order to get where I am now, I had to be harsh. I didn't get here on my own. I have a sister, and we do pretty much everything together. Well, used to be at least.

The phone rings and without even looking at the caller ID I answer the phone. "Listen, Cochran, I told you. No prints mean no job. This is the number one media company in the Capitol, and I have PLENTY of options other than just you-"

"Jada?"

"Oh hey, Cassidee," I say.

Cassidee has been a close family friend since before I can remember. We basically grew up together. We were those friends who knew we were destined for more, and we made it that way. Me a major journalist, Amber a former journalist turned First Lady, and Cassidee one of the most trusted ambassadors on the President's Cabinet. We were genetics gold for our parents.

"We still on for lunch?" she asks me over the phone.

"Of course. I'm still a little pissed you went MIA on us for a week straight." Blanch the assistant I hired a couple of months ago runs into my office and shows me the prints from Mr. Cochran, they're exactly how I wanted them, but I'm still pissed that it took this long to get them to me. "You can tell Mr. Cochran he's on probation with me," I say.

"Always such a ball buster, Jada," says Cassidee as she laughs on the other end of the phone. I can't place it, but something is different. Something about the way she talks, it's almost like there is a different pattern in her voice.

"You know me, if it isn't done correctly, it should have never been done. See ya in an hour, Cass." I hang up the phone and walk back to my desk. The view of the city from my office window is stunning, and I can't help but smile.

But there isn't time to reminisce. I have a story to get.

"Relevant people in my office now!" I call from behind the desk.

One by one my chief staff files into my beige office. Some sit on the couches, some stand against the walls, and the smart ones stand in front of my desk.

"I need a story. Something big, something that's going to catch the idea of the city." I stop talking and all of the people I've stupidly hired just stare at me. I roll my eyes and slam my hands on the desk. "Don't just stare at me like I'm growing a new head out of my nose. Give me ideas!"

"We could do an article on the history of the Hunger Games, catch up with all the Victors and where they are now." says an employee that's fairly new. I think her name is Brittney? None the less that's the stupidest and most overdone idea I've ever heard, and I refuse to even entertain this idea.

"Tell me, Brittney,"

"It's Passion," says the girl, but I continue talking without addressing her.

"Do you think before you talk? Or do you just let the words fly out of your mouth as if you're vomiting the putrid things all over my floor? Listening to you literally, makes me want to drink acid. Stand in the corner."

She looks at me confused. "Stand in the corner?" she asks me concerned.

"Yes, the corner. Stand with your nose in the corner. Go."

She gets up from the couch slowly and makes her way to one of the corners of my office. She sticks her nose in the corner and then turns around to look at me to make sure this is what she should be doing. "I didn't tell you to turn around," I say as she turns back and faces the wall. I can tell she's embarrassed, and she should be. Giving me that stupid idea.

"People I think you know my motto right now, that there isn't dumb ideas, just dumb people. It's pretty common that dumb people have the WORST ideas. So if you're dumb, do me a favor, and yourself, and keep that in the dark."

The room remains quiet for another two minutes before someone speaks up.

"Rumor has it that the President is having a fundraiser for this year's Hunger Games." says a voice that I can't quite see but recognize instantly. "It's going to be a thrill, everyone that is anyone will be there. We should get coverage."

"Ladies and Gentlemen, my sister Amber," I say as she comes into view. Her long brown hair is falling in locks down her back, and she is dressed in a yellow sundress. "This is what we call a good idea," I say winking at her. "I assume you can get press passes for my employees?" I ask looking at her.

"I can pull some strings. Being the First Lady has some benefits," she says with a sarcastic smile.

"Good," I say. "First 3 people to impress me gets to go do the coverage of the event," I say. "You're dismissed." I wave my hand and make my way back to my desk. "Brittney, you stand in the corner in the office now. I don't feel you've thought about what you need to do long enough."

Brittney walks with her head down low as she walks into the offices outside of mine and goes directly to a corner. The rest of the employees hurry to get some sort of a scoop on what is going on in this huge and booming city.

"Ready for lunch with Cass?" ask Amber as she sits down on the couch and puts her feet up on the coffee table.

"Let's go," I say as I grab my purse from under my desk and walk towards the door.

 **Katherine Farrow**

 **Posing as Cassidee Schapp**

The twins are vapid as hell. Talking to them for longer than ten minutes is a hassle because all of the conversations are as high school as you can physically get. It doesn't surprise me that President Snow would marry someone shallow. The man is too deep, he needs someone who doesn't ask questions.

"Anyways, I had her stand in the corner and think about what she did."

Amber laughs and I force a chuckle. Playing Cassidee is kind of easy for me because to be honest back in District 1 I was her. She's clearly the ring leader in this mean girl clique. Sure Amber has the position, but Cassidee has the smarts to handle her ego. Jada is smarter than she looks, but behind her confident attitude lies an insecure little girl that she's always been. Constantly wallowing in her sister's shadow.

I haven't thought like this in so long.

"Cass, where were you all last week?" Jada ask.

I can't tell if she knows about the existence of District 13 or not. I'm not even sure if Amber knows about it. Snow is a secretive man, and I doubt he'd want his pretty little flower to know about the dark secrets of this country.

"I was on business," I respond. That seemed like a safe answer.

"We know you were in 13," says Amber. "What happened? Did you meet the mayor?"

"Oh duh!" I say chuckling to myself. "I've gotten so used to answering broadly I forgot I could tell you guys. "I did meet him. He's a cutie."

Amber continues to chuckle, but Jada's eyes narrow. I've triggered suspicion in her head, and in mean girl world that gives her a footing to grip onto. She immediately smirked to herself and begins to look down at the salad she has in front of her. She's challenging me. I can't let it go unnoticed.

"No salad is that interesting, Jada," I say.

She laughs to herself as she sets her fork down and stares at me. Amber looks confused as she looks back and forth between her sister and me. "Are you sure you want to do this here...Cass?" she ask me.

Jada looks too confident in this moment. That makes me nervous. She doesn't seem like the type of girl to bring a knife to a gun show. She doesn't go to bat unless she's sure she'll hit a homer. I, on the other hand, don't share that confidence in this moment. Cassidee is a smart girl, but I doubt she sees the vindictiveness in her friend's eyes.

"What are you talking about?" I ask confused.

"I don't know who you are," says Jada. "But whoever you are, you might want to get more bobbing pins, because your brunette hair is sticking out of the blonde wig that is supposed to be Cassidee. Cass also has a freckle on her right eyelid, and yours is on your left. Now I'll ask you again. Who are you?"

"Cassidee Schapp."

"I'm an investigative journalist, and I don't know what you've done to Cassidee but so help YOU God if you've hurt her, you're going to wish you'd never met me." says Jada.

I look around the room and see people starting to stare. This is the worst, Jada knew exactly what she was doing and I fell for the trap and walked straight into it!

"I can't tell you what you're looking for here," I say. "Is there a place that isn't bugged?" I ask.

"Check please." says Jada holding up her hand and smiling at me.

 **Well, thank you for your patience. I apologize for the long wait, but unfortunately, there has been a lot of unexpected things happening. Nonetheless, I have everything ready now!**

 **The tribute list is on overtehg. Weebly . com (take the spaces out.) I looooove blog reviews. (You should be nice and do one because this took four hours :D) ALSO: I had to move some tributes around, you guys need to go through the whole entire thing.**

 **What do you think of Jada? Amber?**

 **What do you think is going to happen to Katherine?**

 **What do you think the twins will play in this story?**

 **Keep it classy,**

 **Caleb**


	6. District 1 Reapings

_It's a small world after all._

 _Yes, it's a small world after all._

* * *

 **Emerald Thunders, 18**

 **District 1 Female**

"People buy me to eat but never eat me. What am I?"

I laugh to myself as I look around at the students who are looking around at each other blankly. The academy trainers have gotten used to my laughing by now. It's something that they've had to put up with since I was a mere twelve-year-old walking into this building with a big heap of dreams.

Five minutes pass and still no one has answered the riddle. This is just sad at this point. Raising my hand, and in between fits of giggles, I wait for the trainer to call on me. "Yes, Emerald?" he asks me as he gives me a quizzical look.

"The answer," I say giggling. "Is a plate."

The class all widens their eyes. Some facepalm themselves, and others look sad that they couldn't figure that out themselves. I personally know that I'm one of, if not THE, smartest person in this room. So it shouldn't come as a shock to them when I get something like this so easy.

The trainer smiles as he nods his head, as he has so many times before when I've answered a question. "That is correct, Emerald," he tells me through a weird look. "I don't see why the answer was funny, though."

"Everything is funny if you think about it," I say while letting a loud and excited laugh out. "Laughter is the best medicine after all."

I had cancer as a kid. I wasn't supposed to survive it. Stage four leukemia. I was what they called a miracle patient. Some of the biggest scientific miracles District One has ever seen happened to me, but the problem was I didn't feel like much of a miracle. A bald girl that couldn't go outside and play wasn't much of a hit with the other kids. So, I was lonely. I didn't have much to be happy about, even as I went through remission I didn't have anyone to really share it with.

On the last check up for my cancer, the doctor said something to me that changed my life forever. He looked down and me and said, with a giant smile, "You should laugh more, kid. Laughter is the best medicine after all."

And so I did. At first, it was a lot of forcing, because I didn't find many things funny. But as I continued to laugh, I realized I really did start to get better. The endorphins being released into my system all the time was a lot of happiness, and happiness became my drug. It's what I love to do. People say that I'm weird because I laugh all the time, but I think that they're weird for not pursuing happiness in its entirety. I never have a bad day. It doesn't matter what I'm going through, or how I'm being treated, and it's all because of the giggle bug that I caught a long time ago.

* * *

 _Woke up this morning early before my family_

 _From this dream where she was trying to show me_

 _How a life can move from the darkness_

 _She said to get better_

* * *

 **Jordan Florencia, 18**

 **District 1 Male**

"Perfection was a joke of a word placed into the dictionary to fool us all into chasing the unattainable. For as long as I can remember perfection was what I strove for. To impress my parents, to impress the academy trainers, to impress people. I was "that guy" that looked like everything was together. Never allowing my emotions to become noticeable, and never allowing myself to be too comfortable." I say as I look at the group.

"Then something snapped. It was like a rubber band effect. The harder I ran away from who I was, the harder the strain of the pullback was. Fighting the urge to just give up was a constant struggle as I felt the walls of my once seemingly put together life cave in around me. Drugs, drinking, and too many girls to count. It was catching up to me and suddenly nothing made sense anymore."

I take a deep breath and look around at the people in the circle. People who have different stories than me, that shouldn't be able to understand what I'm going through but they do, and even if they don't they listen. I close my eyes as I feel tears welling up.

"Then like a ray of sunshine, she walked into my life." I pause as I remember every inch of her face. From the freckles on her cheeks, to her green eyes that were one of her most notable features. "She was beautiful." I continued. "Like no other girl I had ever seen before. When she walked into a room, people noticed. They stopped and they stared, and I knew that I had to have her." my voice breaks as this next part leaves my mouth. "I knew she would have to be mine."

The instructor for the group smiles at me earnestly as he urges me to go on with his eyes. I always get to this part in the story, and I can never get past it. They don't know what it's like to hold this amount of guilt. To look at where someone used to be and not see them anymore. This might be a support group for people who've lost someone, but I am the only one in here with a guilty conscious.

"Jordan, go on," says the instructor encouragingly.

"I-I-I don't think I can." I finally manage to stutter out before he nods in approval and moves onto the next person.

* * *

 _It's a world of laughter, a world of tears._

 _A world of wonders, a world of fears._

 _There's so much that we share, it's time that we're aware._

* * *

 **Emerald Thunders, 18**

 **District 1 Female**

I've always hated the structure of Panem. The idea that there is a whole world outside of these metal gates and fences drives me crazy. District 1 is all I've ever known, but beyond the skyscrapers, and the luxury shops, and the designer clothes...there has to be more. Right?

I collect maps, and you'd be surprised at how hard they are to come by. A peacekeeper sold me him for a really high price, but then said I wasn't allowed to take it out in public because he could get in trouble. The government doesn't want us to know where we are. They want us to think of nothing more than the fishbowl that they've assigned us to. That doesn't sit well with me.

I long to see the beaches of District 4. I long to see the different flowers that grow in the wilderness along the district. It's such a big world, and instead of being able to experience it, I'm stuck in the compounds of an ever increasing District that is destroying what little wild and plant life we have left.

Everything has room for more luxury. That's the goal of District 1.

But I love maps, not because it shows me places that I'm probably never going to see, but it takes me out of District 1 for awhile. It allows me to imagine the sand in between my toes at District 4. It allows me to imagine running through the apple orchards in District 11, or the wheat fields in 9.

Seeing how big our country amazes me. We're one of the most proficient countries to ever live on the earth, and yet the citizens that inhabit the country know so little about the world they belong to. Why do earthquakes happen in certain parts of the country, and not in others? Why do the oceans only reach certain areas, and then others are landlocked? What is so special about making sure that there are trees on the ground?

Those are the kinds of questions we never get the answers to in District 1. Instead, we learn how to kill. Instead, we learn how to be selfish, and to fight to further this country even farther down the hellhole it's started to fall into.

I start to chuckle to myself as I think about all the foolish people who give into the hoopla of the games. They don't understand that this is a game of nothing but death. I refuse to take part of it.

* * *

 _Hey, I hear the voice of a preacher from the back room_

 _Calling my name and I follow just to find you_

 _I trace the faith to a broken down television and put on the weather_

 _And I've trained myself to give up on the past 'cause_

 _I froze in time between hearses and caskets_

 _Lost control when I panicked at the acid test_

* * *

 **Jordan Florencia, 18**

 **District 1 Male**

I always thought the Hunger Games were funny. Something about a whole bunch of people walking into to an arena and killing each other just seemed too far fetched for me to get behind. However, it was something that I soon realized was grotesque and not amusing in the slightest.

It's a rainy day, how ironic considering we're voting two people into the games this year. The kids didn't have a vote, it was only the adults. It's going to suck for the two kids to realize that they were the most hated in the district, and that's why they got voted in.

A short lady with a stout body shape walks onto the stage. She has a giant bright pink hat, and a dress to match. Her hair is the color of a fire truck, and her skin is white as a person that hasn't seen the light of day for 50 years. She has tattoos that line up and down her arms, and they form a flower formation that spells the word pure on it.

"Hello ladies and gentlemen," she says with a bright smile. "My name is Elina Massicot Rinaldi. I'm the escort for District 1 during this year's games. The format will be different this year. Instead of having a tribute just come up, we had the entire district vote in a young man and woman. There will be no volunteers. Upon reading a name, I will read the reason that the district voted you in."

There are two bowls behind her with a single slip in each. She smiles as she sets the mic back in the stand and struts to the back of the stage where she picks the slip from the girls. She walks up to the front and takes a deep breath as she reads the girl's name loud and strong.

"Emerald Thunders." she reads.

A girl from the eighteen-year-old section doubles her head back and begins to furiously laugh. Her eyes have tears streaming down them as she can't help but fall to her knees. The peacekeepers come to the crowd and pick her up from the ground and lead her to the stage.

"Emerald was chosen due to the fact her laughing scares people. The district fears for the safety of others when she is around. She is selected to go into the games for this reason." says Elina as she pockets the first slip and makes her way back to the boy's bowl.

She reaches in and grabs the slip as she walks back to the front of the stage. I can't help but feel like this is one of those moments that changes your life forever. Like the world that I have worked so hard to keep from collapsing even further is now ending this very moment.

"Jordan Florencia." reads Elina.

I'm in shock. Not because I don't deserve it because I do. I am just shocked that out of all the boys who actually WANTED to go into the games this year, I was still chosen.

"Mr. Florencia was chosen, for what looks like the name of a person?" reads Elina. "Silver Magnum?"

 **Here is the first reaping chapter! Sorry, it's late, but I've been SO busy! I loved writing this, though. These two were fun to tinker with. Thanks to the submitters! The chapters will get longer after the reapings! Don't worry friends!**

 **Predictions?**

 **By the way, I won't beg for reviews, if you want to you will. BUT, I will say I'm more likely to kill a tribute from a person who doesn't review and only reads. :)**

 **Keep it classy,**

 **Caleb**


	7. District 2 Reapings

_All work and no play_

 _Never made me lose it._

 _All business all day_

 _Keeps me up a level._

* * *

 **Rylan Spain, 17**

 **District 2 Tribute**

Compartmentalization is important for a career. Being able to separate the job from your personal feelings is important. Because that's what the games are for kids like me, a job. Only the best get promoted, and only the strong persevere through it. The training we've had to go through everyday was vigorous. In the 9 years that we've had the academy so many have dropped out because it isn't what they thought it would be. My class has nine people in it.

I know I'm going in this year. The district put out a order that the only kids that can be voted in are the ones that are selected by the academy. They wanted to give us the best chance to win this year. I don't know if I'm the best option. I definitely have my struggles, I've had to work twice as hard as the other tributes just because of my disabilities.

I'm an identified lower level learner. Meaning the things that takes another trainee x amount of time to understand, it takes me 2x amount of times to understand. I was the bottom of my class for the first few years I was at the academy, and then something happened. It was like a candle being lit for the first time. I was able to compete with the other kids, and not just be here for the exercise. They saw something in me, and though in that moment I was never the most skilled, I was always the most consistent.

I rank third in the academy girl, and out of a class of seven you'd think that was an almost a guarantee that I wouldn't get selected for the games, but the other girls were lacking consistency. The girl that placed first, on the last testing round scored 4th, and the girl that scored second scored 5th. I scored third. So they put me in, and I mostly think it was to teach them a lesson.

Walking out of the girls locker room I feel a sense of peace fall over me as I think about tomorrow. Tomorrow could very well be the start of the end of my life, but my family is rooting for me, the district is rooting for me. I refuse to let them down.

I feel a sharp pain in the back of my shoulder blade as I tumble to the ground. Romania and Athena stand over me with sneers on their faces. Romania smirks as she sees me on the ground confused.

"Some tribute they picked this year right, Athena? Can't even handle herself in a surprise attack," says Romania as she rolls her eyes.

"You know it should have been one of us, Rylan. You're a joke," adds Athena.

I stand up and straighten my clothes that have been wrinkled from the fall. I take my hand and punch both of them in the noses as hard as I can. I hear a loud crack from Romania's as she throws her hands over her nose and screams.

"Dang, some tributes tributes they passed on. Can't even deflect a basic jab." I sneer. "Touch me again, and I won't hesitate to kill you."

I walk out of the training academy with my head held high. They say that all work and no play makes for a dull day, but in a game of life and death, I'd argue that all work and no play makes for survival.

* * *

 _I am heaven sent,_

 _don't you dare forget._

 _I am all you've ever wanted,_

 _What all the other boys promised._

* * *

 **Saxum Flavus, 18**

 **District 2 Male**

I'm special. No, like I mean special. Every once in awhile a shining star is born among a generation of losers and underlings, That shining star just happens to have the name Saxum Flavus.

I didn't ask to be amazing, it was simply an ability that was just thrust upon me. Someone like me was born for the Hunger Games. Someone like me who is indestructible, who can feel no pain. Like, I literally can't feel pain. Congenital analgesia is what I have. It's a super cool God-given gift that allows me to never feel pain. Because of that I'm the top boy at the academy. I never get sore, I never get tired, you can stab me and I won't even flinch.

They found out that I had the gift when I was training one day. The sparring partner I had kicked my ankle so hard it broke, and I kept running as if I didn't feel anything. They didn't realize that I had broken my ankle until I had taken off my shoe in the locker room and saw the swollen mound on the ground. They were amazed at my perseverance through pain, but I didn't know what pain was. I'd never felt it.

I'm a demigod among mere mortals. I will win the games this year.

It's my birthright. My destiny. The hunger games were created specifically for me to win 25 years later. Somehow President Snow knew that I would be as amazing as I am, and he placed me into the most powerful district so I could reach my full potential. All of these tributes are going to see this baby face and get me mixed up with a weakling, until I'm shoving a sword through their chest.

Watch out tributes, I'm the Saxum. The rock of this year's games.

* * *

 _Today is my birthday, and I'm riding high_

 _Hair is dripping, hiding that I'm terrified_

 _But this is summer, playing dumber than in fall_

 _Everything I say falls right back into everything_

* * *

 **Rylan Spain, 17**

 **District 2 Female**

"Wake up, baby!" says my mother as I open my eyes in a groggy form.

I've always hated mornings. They're always sad, sad times where you have to say goodbye to your pillow and then wish the whole entire day would just fly by so you can get back to it. Plus, it's currently four o'clock in the morning. My mother has clearly lost her mind.

"Your eighteenth birthday is during the games, Ry." says mom with a platter of pancakes on a wooden tray. I instantly worry how she managed to pay for that meal. It's somewhat of a rare treat to have anything other than oatmeal for breakfast before training, but I don't know why mom is doing this.

"Mom it's just a day," I say rolling over onto the other side of the bed to let her get in.

"Just a day?! You're turning 18! That's an adult, and I don't even get to see my baby do it in person. What I do get to see though is my baby doing it in style as she wins the games. I'm so proud of you, honey."

She pulls two forks out of her robes and hands me one. I begin to dig in excitedly and she follows suit. My mom is my hero. She and my dad got married super young, she was from a wealthy family, and dad was a street kid. She gave up everything for him, and then he died soon after I was born. Mom took on the role of provider, something she had never done in her life, and my dad always watched over us. When I was seven my grandfather approached my mom and told her that a grandkid of his would have to be in the academy. He paid for most of it, and there was no way he'd reap none of the benefits. So for awhile I lived with them. They told my mother that she made her choice and didn't welcome her back, so when I turned nine, I left and came back home. Me and my mom have been tight ever since.

A knock on the door surprises us. We never get visitors. My mom gets up from the bed and walks over to the door, and I hear whispering for a few minutes. Soon after my grandfather walks into the room. His expensive cologne gave away who was walking in the door before I saw his face. He holds a tiny red box about the size of a playing card. He comes over to the bed and sits down at the foot of it.

"Rylan, I'm very proud of you," he says as he hands me the box. "I hope you'll take this as your token?"

He hands me the little red box, and I open it. Upon looking inside of it I see it's a charm bracelet. One charm for each of the districts.

"Thank you, grandpa. I love it." I respond giving him an awkward hug.

"You better get going, Dad." says mom. "Rylan has to get ready."

He gets up and kisses me on my head, before walking directly passed my mother without saying another word. I look at each bracelet quizzically. They're very beautiful charms, but there is something odd about them.

* * *

 _I think in decimals and dollars._

 _I am the cause of all your problems,_

 _Shelter from cold. we are never alone._

 _Coordinate brain and mouth._

 _Then ask me what's it like to have_

 _Myself so figured out._

* * *

 **Saxum Flavus, 18**

 **District 2 Male**

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the most godly of them all? I don't say it out loud because I don't need to ask it. Me, I am the most godly. The man that can feel no pain. The man who breaks his ankle and keeps running, who gets stabbed in the gut and keeps fighting. I'm a hero! This district's hero!

I just feel bad for the poor girl they send in with me. I don't believe in District loyalties once we hit the top eight.

"I really wish you would have not campaigned for this." dad says as he appears in my bathroom doorway. I turn to face him, and see the sunken in face and the bags under his eyes. He didn't sleep last night. All year since I started to express interest in going into the games he's been worried for me.

"Son, after your mother died, you're all that I have left. I put you in the academy to strengthen you...not...not so you could become this." says my father semi-sternly.

"Become what? Superior? Stronger? Better?" I ask in a defensive accusing tone. "Dad, I'm doing this. I'm going to win. If you can't get behind this, don't show up when it's time to say goodbye."

I grab my blazer and head out the door. I walk to city circle and see all the people staring at me as I walk by. I don't blame them, if I weren't me I'd stare too. I don't bother waiting in line to get my blood drawn, they'll see soon enough that I'm here and checked in, and nobody stops me as I walk by. They're scared of me. The mere mortals are scared that I'll open up a can of whoop ass on them. As they should be, because no matter how strong they are, they won't hurt me.

Ten minutes pass, and the escort appears on stage in a bright blue dress. Her skin is normal shade for a caucasian person, but her hair is fiery red.

"Welcome district 2 to your reapings, though I'm not sure why we call it that. More like volunteering. I'm sure the two that are going in this year already know their fate, so let's just get started." she says.

She walks to the back of the stage, and digs her hand into the female bowl. She pulls out the envelope and walks back to the front. "Rylan Spain." she read out. "Rylan was chosen for her consistency in training and superior skill set."

I never actually bothered to go and find out who my district partner was. She's cute, for a mortal, and has a lot of training qualities that show physically. I just hope she doesn't turn out to be a joke like the girl from last year.

"Now for the boys." she says as she walks to the envelope in the back. She grabs it and walks back to the front to read in a loud and clear voice, "Saxum Flavus," I started walking to the stage before she even said my name. I knew I would get chosen. It wasn't a surprise. "Saxum was chosen for his superior skills and secret abilities." she reads confused as she puts the card down and sees me walking up to the stage. When I get to the front I grab the mic and begin talking.

"Mere mortals, fear not. You've sent a god among men into the arena this year. I'll bring back the crown!"

The audience cheers. They always cheer. I'm a god.

 **Here are our district 2 reapings! What did you think?**

 **I'm overwhelmed with gratitude for the support I've been getting from you guys. You are all awesome and give me so much motivation to keep going!**

 **Keep it classy,**

 **Caleb**


	8. District 3 Reapings

_Feeling my way through the darkness._

 _Guided by a beating heart._

 _I don't know where the journey will end._

 _But I know where it starts._

* * *

 **Athena Mestinyl, 13**

 **District 3 Female**

 _Dear Diary,_

 _It happened again. Dianna is so clouded by her hatred for my father and myself that she rips into me every chance she gets. Mom and dad tell me that I should fight back, that I should punch and kick them as much as they do so me, but it wouldn't solve anything. Hatred doesn't reasoning switch, so until I can either magically become stupid, or Dianna finally grows up, we're stuck in this situation._

 _Iris says it's because I'm different. Because I'm 'wise for my years', but I can't help that. I don't see what's wrong in wondering what's going to happen when I die. Why is it bad for me to wonder if there's a higher power? Would I not be ignorant in completely closing my mind off to things like this?_

 _I write about it because it's easier for me to process than thinking it all out in my head. So I have a diary for each part of my life that I try and keep to myself. I have one for days like these where I rant about my anger. I have a diary for my dreams, and I write my aspirations, and every now and then a new dream comes along. I have a diary for novel ideas, and short stories, and lastly, I have a diary for my philosophical ideas._

 _The truth is, Diary, that I refuse to live my life as intellectually mediocre to suit the needs of others._

 _I'm a strong girl, and I won't change the way that I am for people to accept me. Mom and dad are who they are anyways, and people hate dad so much that I know I won't be accepted even if I did. Mom and dad wish I wasn't so different either. Dad tells me that I'm stubborn, but I want to be nothing like my father. He's corrupt and immoral, and his ideas for life are all materialistic. It's like he's in a cave, and all he sees are the shadows of things. He misses the big picture._

 _I don't need power, I don't need money, I don't need friends. I need my ideas. I need my stress relievers, and more importantly I just need you to always be able to listen. I know listening to the rantings of a thirteen-year-old girl can be exhausting at times, but I can't hold everything in, now can I?_

 _Thank you friend,_

 _Athena_

* * *

 _You see, why does it feel so good?_

 _So good to be bad_

 _'Cause if it's trouble that you're looking for_

 _Oh baby, here I am_

* * *

 **Vinton Malik, 18**

 **District 3**

"Now, Chrissie, the Peacekeepers have said you've been extremely naughty."

The twelve-year-old squirms in her seat that she is strapped to. She looks scared in her eyes, but it she's too stubborn to admit that she is scared. Instead, she crosses her legs and begins to shake it as if she is growing impatient. I love a good fighter.

"You don't think I know who you are?" she says. "I've heard about you. They call you Professor Creep!" She spits the last word like it's supposed to be an insult, but I revel in the thought of people knowing me. Infamously or famously, hated or loved, people are still thinking about me. I'm still in their minds.

"Then you know what is about to happen, dear," I say as I walk to the dresser drawer and grab the kit I've used so many times before. Opening it up the scalpel looks so delectably shiny. I can see my eyes in the reflection as I take it out of its protective casings. "Chrissie, do you know what I do in here?" I ask her. I'm curious what the people say about me.

"They say that your dad created a monster. Some say he wasn't even your real dad but adopted dad." Interesting that they knew that, but hey. I don't care if people do. "They say that he created a robot from nothing, and they're scared that the government will use it as resources later to spy, or physically hurt people.

"You aren't wrong on any of that," I say as I continue to stare at myself in the scalpel. "Interesting how you did know all of that correct information."

"And you're responsible for the missing children in the District," she adds.

"Yes, that I am too."

She widens her eyes in fear as she stares at me questionably. I've never had a test subject make it this far with me. Never seen my plans and my ideas as much as Chrissie has. It almost is enough for me to not do the test on her… Almost.

"Dear Chrissie, this is going to hurt you a lot more than it's going to hurt me."

"Wait, what are you doi-?!" she asks me as I drag the scalpel across her throat.

"Now the fun begins," I say as I watch the light drain from her eyes.

* * *

 _So wake me up when it's all over._

 _When I'm wiser and I'm older._

 _All this time I was finding myself,_

 _and I didn't know I was lost._

* * *

 **Athena Mestinyl, 13**

 **District 3 Female**

"Can you explain this?"

My mom holds my ranting diary out in front of me. I thought for sure this time I'd hid it in a place that she wouldn't look. I put it in a plastic bag and taped it to the inside of the top of my toilet. Who'd have guessed that Mary Mestinyl would touch something so germy as a toilet?

"It's a diary, Mother," I say as I avoid eye contact with her.

"Why do you have such a silly and pointless thing?!" she asks me angrily.

My parents hate the fact that I write. They wish that I'd devote myself to more important things, like finding a rich husband. The thing is, I've never had dreams of marriage. I don't even think I've ever had feelings for someone in a romantic sense before. Writing is something that I'm so passionate about. If it's something that I love so deeply, how can it possibly be bad?

"Mom, I need it, okay?" I say. "It helps me cope. You and dad don't make things easy for me. The entire district hates you two, and me through association. It's not fair."

"Your father is the mayor, Athena," she says dryly. "You need to know that some things come with a sacrifice."

"I never asked him to be mayor," I respond just as dryly and coldly as she just sounded. "I know I have it better than most kids. I know I have a lot more opportunities than others do. You and Dad are corrupt, though. You can't tell me that all the things you do are legal. I know he takes the money he's supposed to budget for the district and that's how we can do a lot of what we do. People know, Mom."

She walks over to the table that I'm sitting at eating cereal and slaps me in the face. I stare at her stunned. This is the first time my mom has ever laid a hand on me. She stands to look at me hard as a rock. Her eye contact is unwavering as she looks down at me. "You will respect your father and I. I will not have an insubordinate little brat as a daughter. You'd be wise to appreciate what I and your father have done for you."

She takes me diary over to the fireplace and throws it into the fire. I silently cry as all of my ideas and rants disappear into a cloud of ashes.

* * *

 _I say why does it feel so good?_

 _So good to be bad_

 _Getting what I want, boy_

 _Why does that make you so mad?_

* * *

 **Vinton Malik, 18**

 **District 3 Male**

"She shouldn't be a problem anymore, Arroz."

Arroz is the main Peacekeeper for our district. We came up with this little arrangement we have going to keep the street kids in line. Fear of Professor Creep is a huge reason to not steal, and these kids that go missing never see the light of day again. Chrissie sits with her eyes wide open. All of her organs gone, and her body has been drained. I've connected a number of circuits in wires into her, and she now sits an almost complete robot.

"She was one of the leaders," says Arroz as he watches me connect the last few wires together. "The other street rats really looked up to her."

As the connection sparks, Chrissie blinks her eyes and Arroz smiles. "It's always so cool how you do that," he says. Chrissie sits up on the bed, and I look to Arroz to do his thing. "Come on girl, I have a mission for you in the underground fighting arena," he says as she gets up off the surgical bed and follows him out of the house. After they leave I hear a faint bell sound in the distant and realize that the reapings are today! This process, fun as it may be, is a lengthy one. I worked all night on reinventing Chrissie.

I run up to my room, and throw off my surgical suit. I run into the closet and throw on a plaid shirt, and a pair of jeans and run out of the house. Wouldn't want to be late for my last reaping. I get to the square and check in the line just in time for our District escort to announce that this year the district voted people in. I take my place in the eighteen-year-old line as the stout man walks to the back of the stage and grabs onto the girl's envelope in the bowl. Walking back to the front of the stage he reads in a clear and loud voice. "Athena Mestinyl."

HA! That's the mayor's daughter! He's such an asshat, at one point someone was going to really stick it to him.

I watch gleefully as the scared little girl walks to the front of the stage. She is trembling in fear as the escort continues to read why she was voted in. "Athena was voted in because of her parents." says the escort. The little girl gives her parents an ugly look before the escort walks back to the boy's bowl. He walks back to the front of the stage with the envelope in hand and read out the name, "Vinton Malik."

This was something that I wasn't expecting. I mean surely, I knew people would vote for me, but I expected the Peacekeepers to rig it. I do after all provide them with entertainment. "Vinton was voted in because they fear he is the infamous Professor Creep.," says the escort confused. "You district three people have such vague reasons. Boring."

I throw my head back and laugh as I walk up to the stage. Once I arrive at the top of the stairs connected with the stage, I strut to the center and take a bow. The people boo as I smile and wave happily at them. They'll see when I get back who gets the last and final laugh. I am after all Professor Creep.

 **Well, I've had a fever all weekend, and I've been bored to tears. So you guys get two chapters in one day! (It's like I'm just starting again, I know!) I loved the fact that these two tributes are so unlike the normal boring District 3 tributes people send. I was so excited to write for them.**

 **I hope you enjoyed! Let me know predictions!**

 **Keep it classy,**

 **Caleb**


	9. District 4 Reapings

_Seven years old everything was fine._

 _Table for four on a Friday night._

 _Didn't see any sign on a dead end road._

* * *

 **Sailor Atkinson, 17**

 **District 4 Female**

People look at Careers and they see what the want to see. They see entitled rich kids that live off of their daddy's money who just throw their lives away. But Careers don't see it that way. For as long as they can remember they've grown up around the Hunger Games, and in a District like mine where we are honored and hold a celebrity status, it's all anyone wants.

Then there was me, I'm just a girl who sought approval in all the wrong places and before I knew it I was in too deep. My father was a Victor. He won the 4th Hunger Games, he really kicked off what the District saw as the Hunger Games being a chance for glory. Shores Atkinson, the first Victor that Four has ever known. Unfortunately for me, Shores Atkinson also had a problem with keeping it in his pants.

A drunken night, and nine months later and out pops me. Being born out of wedlock is such a shameful thing here in District Four. I wasn't just any child, though, no,I was the child of a Victor. Constantly known as the girl who had the famous dad. He stayed around for as long as he could, but finally, he couldn't do it anymore. Something clicked, and he decided we weren't worth it anymore. I joined the academy in hopes that he would see something in me, and maybe he would come home with Mom and me, but all it's brought me so far was the disappointment of him continuing to not care.

Which brings me to the present day. I'm really nothing special in the academy, I'm at the point in the career where if I back out now there won't be any decent job for me, and I really don't know where I go from here. I do know, that I want to be so much more than just my dad's bastard kid.

I feel so cliche, like the protagonist in every movie where they come to age and find themselves, but at the end of those movies, isn't there always a happy ending? The problem with trying to compare me to the movies is, my dad isn't someone that can be swayed in any given direction. When he makes up his mind, it's done, and there is no turning back from there. My mother gets the alimony check once a week, and my dad pays for my academy training. Other than that, I'm nothing to him.

It's funny, because, without Shores, I wouldn't even be here. I don't see how someone can physically come from you, you can hold your creation in your arms, and then you just leave it. How you can just throw it out like there was nothing there. Like you weren't my hero for the first seven years of my life.

"You're the daughter of the first Victor! What an awesome dad you have!"

A smile here, a nod there, and every now and then a polite greeting from him when he sees me at the academy. Even though my dad sucks, the absolute most sickening thing is, if he wanted to rebuild a relationship with me I'd do it in an instant.

* * *

 _So don't you call my name_

 _I will take you down_

 _Should've known that you've been dancing with a wolf_

* * *

 **Andrew Coubisou, 17**

 **District 4 Male**

It's broad day out. The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and I'm going to burn down the academy.

I'll show them. I'll literally show them all just how much I can do. They think they can deny me my right to get into the Games? They think they can take away my only thing that I'm good at. I'll show them, I and these matches will show them.

These people don't understand who they're messing with. I'm a strong, athletic, socially advanced intelligent tribute. District 4 would be lucky to have a good guy like me running the show on the Hunger Games, but instead, they decide to not advertise me as the one they want.

"These idiots can burn," I whisper to myself as I take one match out of the box and strike it. The flame erupts at the top and I can't help but smile, I'm going to make a name for myself. I'm going to be known right now.

"This is because I hate you all!" I say as I throw the first match at the steps of the academy. The flame continues to go, and then it trickles out and the ashes of the match just lay there on the ground in front of me. I look at the ground in complete horror when I take another match and do the same as before.

"Are these things defective?!" I shout.

People are starting to stare, and I continue to light and try to strike the matches to get them to burn, until finally, I have a glimmer of hope when the step looks like it's going to catch on fire, only to be stepped on by none other than Shores Atkinson.

"Son, have you lost your mind trying to set this place on fire?!"

"No, I know exactly what I'm doing! I'm the best damn tribute in this building, and YOU," I say poking at his chest, "are one of the people who voted against me being the District representative. Well, the jokes on you!" I scream as I start to light the matches in a frenzy throwing them down, one by one.

Victor Atkinson grabs the matchbox out of my hand and pockets them for himself.

"Go home, Andrew," he says angrily.

"You're going to pay for this," I say as I walk back towards the other direction.

* * *

 _I was a little too young and a little too dumb_

 _To ever think the day would come that dad would drive away_

 _And take his love with him._

 _So I grew up fast in a whole new world,_

 _Waved goodbye to that little girl._

 _I can see her now, innocent and seven._

* * *

 **Sailor Atkinson, 17**

 **District 4 Female**

Carol, the normal sparring instructor, would have called in on the last day before the reapings. And of course, instead of canceling class, we just HAD to get a sub. Can you imagine who that sub is?

"Arms, Sailor." says my father as the other trainee I'm fighting is punching at me.

It's really distracting having to fight in front of the person that you worked so hard for with little to no recognition. He keeps making snide little insults at me, and I'm getting to the point where I just can't deal with this anymore.

The girl that I am fighting throws another punch that hits me in the head. I see stars for a minute but recover quickly. "God, Sailor!" says my dad angrily. "Are you ever going to be good enough!?"

"Excuse me?!" I say as I turn towards the girl and punch her two quick times in the mouth. She falls to the ground and is out cold as I turn towards my dad. He looks surprised that I just took down one of the top girls in the class, and the rest of the trainees stand slack-jawed at my attitude that I'm presenting. I'm normally not disrespectful to the trainers.

"Have you ever thought that maybe it's distracting for me to have the man that disowned me giving me fighting instructions?" I begin. He opens up his mouth to start talking, but I cut him off. "You don't get to talk. You've had seventeen years to talk and nothing! It's my turn to talk." I say. "How can you just walk in here and have the balls to say something like that to me? You think because you give my mom money every week to help us survive and pay for my academy that all the sudden you can talk to me like the trash you've treated me like all these years? You're literally the most disappointing and disgusting human beings I know. I used to dream of the day you would come and talk to me about wanting to go to lunch, or even just a simple asking me how I'm doing as you walked by me in the halls. But for the first time in ten years I see you for what you are Shores," I make a point not to call him dad because he's not my dad. "You're a pathetic excuse for a man, a worthless deadbeat father, and just a rude person overall."

He looks at me with no emotions in his eyes. He stands there with his mouth tightly closed, almost forming a line with the shape of his mouth. He points to the door and says. "Out." as he turns to the other trainees to start the next match.

"Sure, we can have a change of roles. I know how tiring it could be to always be the one leaving me." I say as I flip my long ponytail in his direction. As I leave the rest of the class begins to clap for me.

I know I should be feeling a sense of pride. Maybe even a relief should be on me, but instead, I sink down into the lockers and begin to cry. I can't believe I just said all of that, in front of that many people.

"Well, Sailor," I say to myself as I wipe my eyes and clear my throat. "You really stepped in it this time," I say as I collect myself and walk down the hallway.

* * *

 _There's no love for a liar, no love_

 _So don't you call my name_

* * *

 **Andrew Coubisou, 17**

 **District 4 Male**

So after the failure that was setting the academy on fire yesterday, I came up with another plan to get noticed enough to get in the games, buy their votes. Now, keep in mind that my family isn't the richest, but if there was one thing that I knew about poor kids, is that we saved money like crazy.

So all my sisters had to have a secret stash, and I took it. By the time they realize it's gone, if things work out correctly, I'll already be in the games. If I win I'll pay them double of what I stole from them, and if I lose, well, I'll never have to face them about it. No harm no foul right?

"Andrew," calls my mom. "Comes down to the kitchen for breakfast."

I live in the attic. I'm the only boy in the family so I didn't have to share the room, but I did have to live in the most undesired one. When I get down to the table, everyone is already sitting there. All of my sisters are in their best clothes for the reaping today. None of them wanted to go into training, so they know they have no shot at going in.

Me on the other hand? I'm ready. I can feel it in my bones, that this is my moment.

"Are you excited for the reapings today?" ask my mother as she sits down at the table next to my father and my eldest sister.

I shrug my shoulders as I pick up my knife, and sat my elbows on the table. Mom clears her throat and gives me a death glare. Liya has always been the manners type. I manage to eat a little bit of my breakfast before it's time to go to the reapings, and I rush out the door.

"This is it," I say to myself. "This is my moment."

When we get through the line and get through the boring-ass speech about why we have to do the games, and the twist this year. The escort finally walks on stage. She is wearing a pink dress that almost makes her look like a real flower herself. Her hair is hidden under a giant hat that she is wearing, and I can smell her perfume all the way from the middle of the crowd.

"District 4 knows the drill at this point right?" she says as she turns around and waddles to the back of the stage to grab the female tribute envelope. "Remember my volunteer happy friends, that this year there was no volunteers." she opens up the envelope and clears her throat. "This year female tribute will be, Sailor Atkinson." there is a gasp that sweeps across the crowd as the pretty blonde haired girl walks up to the front of the stage. She looks confused, not scared or worried, just confused. "Sailor was selected because the people want to see just how much like your father you are." says the escort. It dawns on her, and me, at the same time that this is the daughter of Shores Atkinson. "Oh, my word!" shrieks the escort. "A child of a Victor?! Your dad must be so proud."

"Doubtful." says the girl as the escort walks to the back and grabs the boy's envelope. She's still mumbling on about how excited she is to have Victor's kid in the games as she clears her throat and reads out the name, "Andrew Coubisou."

"YES!" I scream as I do a victory lap around the people, I weave in and out of the crowd and then finally make my way to the stage. "Andrew was selected because..no that can't be right." says the escort looking at me.

"Oh, it is!" I say smiling at my cleverness.

"Andrew was selected because the kid paid me 20$ to vote for him."

 **Well, I first want to say 100 reviews? What the heck. I'm so surprised and overwhelmed by your response to this story. Your constant support and these kick ass characters make it so much fun to write! I loved these two, thanks to the submitters.**

 **A big apology to the submitter of Vinton. I called him Vincent all through his second POV last chapter. It's fixed now.**

 **Lastly, someone asked how I updated so quickly. I love writing for starters, and I already have a plan of where I want to go with the chapter before I start writing. For the reapings, since let's be honest it's the most boring part of the story, I have been doing four POVs at one page each. While my chapters after the reapings will be 6 POVs at two pages each. Once we reach the fun stuff then my chapters get longer, and will probably start coming out slower. :)**

 **What did you think of these two?**

 **Predictions?**

 **Keep it classy,**

 **Caleb**


	10. District 5 Reapings

_And I could talk about anything,_

 _Whether or not it's worthwhile,_

 _It's based on who's listening,_

* * *

 **Curie Ling, 18**

 **District 5 Female**

She sits there at the lunch table with a giant smile on her face. She has more than enough to eat from her lunch at home, and her friends are all prettied up and smiling just as big as she is. Meanwhile, I sit over here, not a lot to eat, not in fancy school clothes, barely surviving in this cruel district. We share the same last name, we share the same blood, we even share the same father, but we aren't the same. Not by any means.

"Curie we have a lot to do today after school. Popper said he needs us to gather some intel on the masked creep that's been tagging some of the District. The Peacekeepers are feeling extra antsy about him and they're cracking down." says Amanda

"Okay," I say as the bell rings and I start to gather the little trash that I was able to eat at lunch.

Popper is one of the bigwigs of the streets in District 5. He got the name Popper because he had a face full of zits, and he was always seen playing with his face. He rose in the drug world, but quickly realized the real money is in helping the Peacekeepers. So he's the sort of mini mayor in a way, and the mini-mayor needs his secret guards. I'm nowhere near one of his body guards, but more like his social investigator. You have to know your way around the streets when you're a social investigator.

When we got out for the next period, my half sister walks by. Not a care in the world, she doesn't even know I'm her half sister probably, she just knows me as the poor girl. Amanda walks up to me as I'm staring at my sister and smiles. "You ready, Cur?" she asks me.

"You betcha," I say.

We walk down the street and take a few turns down alleyways when we arrive at an abandoned warehouse that burned down a few years back. The door is tagged with the same symbol that has been appearing all over town, a bear eating a crow. I give Amanda a look and then nudge my head to move toward the side of the building. When we make it there we find a latter that is set up to go to the top floor inside a window. We begin to climb when Amanda starts to have second thoughts.

"I don't know, Curie. If we get caught something bad can happen."

"And if Popper finds out we didn't investigate a lead, it won't be his zits he's popping."

She takes a big deep breath before she begins to follow me up the latter.

* * *

 _Written in these walls are the stories that I can't explain,_

 _I leave my heart open but it stays right here empty for days._

* * *

 **Pine Heart, 17**

 **District 5 Male**

The warehouse feels weird this evening. Something about the air lets me know that something is happening tonight that my family wasn't prepared for. Dad had this brilliant idea to make a statement to the District using images a couple of months ago. Through these statements, we were able to get the "Mercay Propaganda" out there, but I don't know if I want the Mercay's back in power. Truth be told I've seen no difference between the Snow and Mercay presidency.

"We had a good night of tagging tonight." says my mother as we enter into the warehouse. Dad and Lizabeth slam their mask down onto the table and smile as they start to take off their uniforms. My family, as dysfunctional as it is, needs someone like me to keep them grounded. They're all very impulsive people. Which is why we are in this mess of a situation in the first place. I don't even think people understand that the crow in the mural is Snow. This was not well thought out.

A noise in the upper floor of the warehouse sends my family spiraling.

"What was that?" ask my dad looking crazy-eyed around the room.

"I'll go check it out."

I begin to walk upstairs when I see two figures moving quickly towards the window. I run after them and get to the window just in time before they can make it out.

"Who are you!? And what do you know?!" I ask.

"Dude," says an Asian girl with long black hair. "My girlfriend and I were just looking for a place to hook up."

The blonde girl looks confused for a moment and then nods in agreement with the other girl.

"We aren't ready to come out yet." adds the blonde girl.

"My mom would kill me if she knew I...uh…" she clears her throat. "Batted for the other team."

Against my better judgment, my gut is telling me to trust them. They don't look like dishonorable people, and if they were actually hooking up, we probably spooked them enough to where they wouldn't have been listening anyways. I step aside from the window and let them out.

"Go," I say. "Quietly, if my dad catches you, he'll kill you."

They nod and shimmy down the latter.

* * *

 _Most of us listen if it's,_

 _Something we can relate to,_

 _All of us relate,_

 _If it's something we've just been through,_

* * *

 **Curie Ling, 18**

 **District 5 Female**

Popper lives on the south side of the district towards the railroad tracks. It's the side of town that nobody goes to due to the heavy crime and lack of Peacekeeper patrolling. If you're in good with Popper, though, no one can touch you.

We arrive at the old house that Popper claimed for himself, and walk to the door. Amanda always gets visibly nervous when she sees Popper. I never do, something about a man in power is just down right sexy to me. If he didn't have a face that only a mother could love, I might have gone for it.

A guard opens the door, and we make our way inside. Popper sits on the tattered couch in a beat up red silk robe. He smiles upon seeing us and gestures for us to make our way to the living room.

"If it isn't my favorite informants!" says Popper. "Tell me, ladies, what do you have for me this evening?"

I know better than to let Amanda talk. She stutters a lot. Here in Popper's house, that's a sign of weakness. So I make sure to talk right away. "We found out the name of the masked tagger that the Peacekeepers have been tracking," I respond.

Popper's face lights up with a smile as he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a wad of cash. "You got a name for me, sweetheart?"

"The Heart Family," I say. "It's stationed out of an old warehouse that burned down a few years back."

Popper nods and throws the cash to me. "Have a nice day, ladies."

We walk out of the house, and I see her again. This time, she's talking to a petty drug dealer as she reaches into her purse to barter with him. The drug dealer is about to pull out a vial of morphing and sell it to her when I stop him.

"You don't sell to her anymore."

He nods at me because he knows who I am, and places the vial back in his pocket and runs off. My half-sister looks at me angrily and with a whiny, and what I imagined entitlement to sound like, says, "Who the hell do you think you are?"

"Ask your dad," I respond. "My name is Curie Ling."

I walk away from the scene to leave her confused and standing alone.

* * *

 _Written on these walls are the colors that I can't change  
Leave my heart open but it stays right here in its cage  
I know that in the morning now, I'll see us in the light upon a hill  
Although I am broken my heart is untamed still_

* * *

 **Pine Heart, 17**

 **District 5 Male Tribute**

It's reaping day.

This is a day that I've been dreading my whole entire life. Two more of these and I'll never have to experience another one. I'm never having kids, I would never want them to experience the pain and the fear of the games.

"So I thought that after the reaping we could go and hit the Merchant center in the town's square." says my father.

"Don't you think that that's a little bit too risky?" I say as the rest of my family looks at me like it's the dumbest thing they've ever heard. "I mean, we don't have that much of a following, and tagging such a public place is going to be bad if we get caught, dad."

"I didn't ask you. Scoot along to the reapings. You're not allowed to have an opinion in this house until you're old enough not to be in those anyways."

I stand up from the table and make my way down to the city square. I know I for sure won't be attending that tagging session tonight. I refuse to get caught and whipped for just following orders from my dad.

When I get checked into the seventeen-year-old male section, and we go through the long list of everything we did to get this punishment, and then we go through the twist for this year, we finally get to the part that will allow me to wipe my brow of any anxiety I've been feeling. The good news is that I'm basically invisible in this district. No one would vote for Pine Heart because they don't even know who I am.

"Ladies first." says the escort as they walk back to the bowl for the female envelope. She turns to the male bowl and goes ahead and grabs that one while she's back there. She really doesn't want to be here.

"The female you've voted in this year is…" she says as she is opening the envelope, "Cure Ling. Curie was selected because the District believes she has the best shot based on her knowledge of people and the life she's been forced to lead."

The girl that was at the warehouse yesterday slowly walks up to the stage. She seems weary, and suddenly I don't have such a good feeling in my stomach about what is coming next.

"And the male this year is…" she says while opening the envelope, "Pine Heart."

My jaw drops. There is no way she just said my name, no way I was selected out of the hundreds of more known people.

"Pine was selected because his family is the masked taggers? Don't mess with Popper, bitches. Is also on the card?" she looks at the guards confused as two Peacekeepers bring me to the front of the stage. When I look out into the audience I see my dad, mom, and older sister being handcuffed and bound where they are. When I look over to the girl from yesterday she sits there with her hand over her mouth.

"You lied to me," I say.

 **Well, that's the District 5 Tributes! Let me know what you think!**

 **I almost didn't post today, but if I feel like crap, and miss work because of that, I need to do something and be productive. So here is the next chapter.**

 **After D6 we will have a chapter dedicated to catching us up on what's going on with our favorite spy, and then we will continue on with the reapings.**

 **Keep it classy,**

 **Caleb**


	11. District 6 Reapings

_I'm a survivor_

 _I'm gonna make it_

 _I'm not gon' stop I'm,_

 _I'm gon work harder._

* * *

 **Rowena Birch, 18**

 **District 6 Female**

"Yes," I say to Principal Macaroni, yes that's his real name, "I hit her."

"Why would you do that, Rowena?"

I roll my eyes and put my feet up on his desk. He scoffs at my "utter disrespect" but surely he knows by now how this will work. He'll ask me why I'll say she's a boring know it all who has never had to work a day in her life, he'll attempt to punish me, and I'll have an attitude. You can only see the same play over and over again so many times before it gets boring.

"Mr. Mac," I say as I lean back in the chair. "Do we really have to do this same dance again? Every week it's the same thing." I say. "My attitude is here to stay man. So just slide me the detention, we both know I won't go to, and I'll be on my jolly little way."

"Rowena, this can not-"

"This cannot continue in the place of learning," I say in a mocking voice. "This is an educational system where students are free to learn and are able to express themselves freely without any fear of a retort from teachers or other students," I say as I make my voice back to normal and smile cheekily at him. "Did I miss anything, or was that as good as I thought it was?"

Mr. Mac pulls out the pink slips that I know has been coming this whole time and slides it towards me. "I would tell you to get it signed by your mother, but we both know you won't."

"Now you're learning," I say with a wink and a smile. "Tell Penelope next time she makes a snide comment I'm cutting her hair off," I say as I walk out of the office. I know he would never admit it, but I swear I saw a small smile as I was leaving the room.

Believe it or not, I like Mr. Mac. He's put up with a lot from me, and that's not the easiest thing to do.

I wouldn't call myself a bitch, but I wouldn't call me sweet. I mostly just stay out of people's way. However, I live by a code. I dislike you until you prove to me why I should like you. It's just a habit. There isn't some tragic backstory that makes me this way, it's just who I am. Besides my family is the size of a circus anyway, so who needs friends when you have tons of siblings that are always at my beck and call when I need something?

Walking down the hall with the pink slip I take it and crumble it in my hands. I keep walking as it drops from my hand and hits the hard cold ground of District 6 as I walk out the school doors.

* * *

 _And if you feel you're sinking, I will jump right over_

 _Into cold, cold water for you_

 _And although time may take us into different places_

 _I will still be patient with you_

 _And I hope you know_

* * *

 **Troy Jenkins, 18**

 **District 6 Male**

Tick, tock, tick, tock. Time is of the essence.

We drew straws. We really weren't sure how else to handle the situation other than the fact it would have to be a random crap shoot. Who would want to go into something like the Hunger Games? It basically went down like this: The leaders in the District grabbed the 10 strongest and well-rounded males that 6 has to offer. We were then told that one of was going to go into the games.

We weren't quite sure why we were selected other than they saw potential in us, but I wish they would be able to tell us what they were basing the grading scale on. None of the guys in the group wanted to be that pansy that chickened out. We all just kind of stared at each other. When finally one of the older members of the leadership team had an idea.

We would draw for it.

It's silly, isn't it? Some childhood game was the deciding factor in whether one of the ten of us would die or live. It's almost ironic in a way. I remember when we were drawing straws I've never been more nervous in my life. I couldn't feel anything other than my heart as it beat out of my chest. I was the third one to draw, and after I did there was no reason for the others to pick, they had their tribute for the 25th Hunger Games.

I wasn't supposed to end up like this, but in a way it makes sense. My whole life all I've wanted to be was helpful to others. I've wanted to be able to do something more than what my typical life would offer. I always felt like I was made for more. Maybe the games are how I do that. Maybe this is my chance. To make the ultimate sacrifice for someone. To be truly selfless. I have to to take this with stride. Maybe there's a reason I was voted in. Maybe I'm not finished yet.

Tomorrow is the day of reckoning, it's the day that the official votes are all cast, and someone goes into the games. Word has already been out to vote me into the games, but I have no idea who the female tribute could be.

Tick, tock, tick, tock time is of the essence.

* * *

 _Thought I couldn't breathe without you,_

 _I'm inhaling._

 _Thought I couldn't see without you,_

 _perfect vision._

 _Thought I couldn't last without you,_

 _but I'm lasting._

* * *

 **Rowena Birch, 18**

 **District 6 Female**

Going to work every day is about the only sense of normalcy that I have. I'm the eldest of seven siblings, who are my entire world, but they aren't exactly what I would call strong. For the longest time, I've been their backbone. I've been their rock that they can lay down on for support. I've been their comfort in storms.

But I've been having scary thoughts.

I'm not going to be around forever. I'm not going to be able to always help them when they need it. What if I'm unable...what if I get killed?

I can't allow myself to think like that, though. There is a world of endless possibilities of what ifs. There are a thousand different ways that life can come down and impact me right now, and I can't let myself think that way.

With one swing of the ax the lumber in front of me chops in half. Most people are surprised to hear that we have lumber yards in District 6, but we have a lot of trees. Why waste money importing from seven when we can do it ourselves? When I was twelve it was so hard. I had to chop it maybe nine times a piece to get through, and that was if I was having a good arm day. So many here thought I would fizzle out, but I wasn't working for me. I had a family to support. I had siblings that needed food, and a mom that couldn't do it all. I had a deadbeat other mom who walked out on us when I was five. I needed to be the breadwinner.

Mom is a seamstress, but if I'm being honest she doesn't get enough business to keep going if anything were to happen to me. Charlie, my younger sister, works with me in the lumber yard, but she doesn't get paid as much as me because she just started a few years ago.

As I go back to chop my next piece of wood I turn to the voting booths that have been haunting me all day. Word on the street is the leaders of the District have decided who's going in. I watch as an elderly woman waddles up to the booth and then turns. When she sees me, she gives me a soft smile. Not one that says hello, but one of pity, and sadness.

A feeling of dread flows through me with a flow so intense I never imagined being able to have this strong of emotions.

I'm being voted in by my district.

* * *

 _Everybody gets high sometimes, you know_

 _What else can we do when we're feeling low?_

 _So take a deep breath and let it go_

 _You shouldn't be drowning on your own_

* * *

 **Troy Jenkins, 18**

 **District 6 Male**

It's a beautiful day outside, and it's entirely deceiving.

Today is the day that I will be giving into what the district desires and going into the Hunger Games. I'll be giving my life so that countless others can be saved this year. What is the point, though? The games are just going to continue for another year, and what happens next year when I'm not around?

Is it terrible of me to think that it's selfish to send me in? Is it terrible for me to think that I might have other plans for my life? That there has to be something more. There has got to be more to the story for Troy Jenkins.

"Hello District 6, and welcome to the Reapings this year!" says our Escort in an entirely too perky manner. He is daunted in a bright orange suit, and his hair is a yellow that is electrifyingly bright. His teeth are so bright that if he smiled into the sun, I'm pretty sure the sun would look away.

"Now, let's waste no time, and let's begin!" he says happily as he stares into the audience. He walks to the back of the stage and draws the female envelope out of the bowl. He skips back up to the front of the stage and smiles as he opens up someone's death sentence.

"This year, your female tribute is...:" he begins, "Rowena Birch!"

The voices of tiny kids scream from the back of the audience as a fierce looking girl walks up to the front of the stage. She is trying hard to keep composed from what I can tell, but she could also be clenching her jaw in anger. For some reason, I don't see this as the type of girl that would cry.

"Rowena was selected because out of your district they think she was the only female who stood a chance. Wow what a compliment!" says the Escort. "Now for the boys."

He walks to the back and draws my name out of the bowl and strolls back to the front of the stage. He begins to open up the envelope to read out the name, and I begin to walk forward. I don't even hear my name being announced. I just know that it's me.

The audience doesn't say anything. There aren't cheers, there aren't chants of good luck, it's just silent. How do you say anything to the two kids you've indirectly murdered?

 **These two were significantly harder to write than the others. Fun, but still hard. I am sorry there wasn't an update yesterday. Had a work meeting, and it went late so I didn't get to write.**

 **Next chapter is all about Little Miss. Katherine, I really don't think you see what's coming next, I'm excited!**

 **Keep it classy,**

 **Caleb**


	12. Every Valley a Peak

_Where you're from_

 _You might be the one who's running things_

 _Well you can ring anybody's bell and get what you want_

 _See it's easy to ignore trouble_

 _When you're living in a bubble_

* * *

 **Katherine Farrow, 27**

 **Undercover**

Is it at all surprising that I ended up in this situation? Leave it to Katherine to always be the one that has something go wrong, but if there is one thing I'm good at, it's getting out of messy situations. Jada sits across from me on her desk. She is typing on a computer while Amber sits and files her nails. Jada's office is huge, and one of the major media sources in the Capitol so I find it hard to believe that it isn't bugged.

After about five minutes Jada looks up at me to begin talking to me when a girl walks into the room. She looks sad, like she's been crying, and her face looks terrified as she knocks on the office door.

"Ms. Mastiff?" she asks Jada from the door of her office.

"Brittney, I've already told you. You can come out of the corner when you're done asking me stupid questions."

The girl nods and walks back to the corner at the other end of the office. Jada nods at Amber to close the door and then turns back to me. She crosses her legs and places her elbow on her knee and leans forward so her chin is on top of her fist. She gives me a cheeky smile as Amber comes back and joins us in our triangle.

"This is either going to go really well for you, or end tragically," says Jada. "Let's start by finding out who you are? You may take off the wig."

I know I'm not in a position to be catty or to have a smart remark back, but it's hard for me to take her serious and not put her in her place. She's a terribly vapid girl, but she's good at what she does. So with a heavy heart and regretful hands, I begin to take the wig and mask off. I don't quite know what Jess would do, or even Elijah if they saw me. I just know I can't give them up.

"What in the fresh hell is this?" says Amber upon seeing my face.

"This is the greatest thing I've ever seen!" screams Jada in delight as she throws her head back and laughs hysterically. She freezes then and contorts her face to one of anger. "Where is Cassidee?"

"Cassidee is safe."

"She better be," she replies. "So Katherine," her eyes narrow, "Tell me why you're here."

"I hate Cassidee, so I kidnapped her and took over her life so I could self-destruct," I respond nonchalantly.

"Great story," she responds, "Now the truth this time." she smirks.

"Keep in mind we both have masters in bullshitting, and you're clearly out of practice." remarks Amber as she goes back to filing her nails.

I bite my lip, there is a lot at stake here, but I have to give them some version of the truth. By me attempting to lie to them it's only going to make the situation worse for me. So I might as well suck it up and tell them.

"There is a secret organization that remains loyal to the Mercays," I tell them. Upon hearing my old best friends last name Amber perks up. "The goal of the organization is to take power out of Snow's hand and place it into a pair of cousins that remain in the Capitol. They haven't been able to make contact with the cousins, but we believe they are hiding under a false name."

The girls look back and forth at each other. Jada has a sense of excitement and longing in her eyes, while Amber looks scared. I feel good about giving them what I did because I didn't mention Jess' or Elijah's name at all. I keep both of them safe, and I still have Cassidee to barter with.

"We clearly aren't hiding very well if a couple of rebels in District 13 are able to gather intel on us, Jada," says Amber angrily. "If they can find that out easily, so can Snow. You aren't the one that shares a bed with him every night!"

Wait what?

"We covered our tracks so well!" says Jada. "The only way that they'd be able to find out about two relatives of the Mercays being alive is if it was someone close to the President," says Jada as she appears to be going through a list in her head. Her eyes widen and she lets out a vicious scream. "FUCKING PRINCESS!" She pulls out a gun from one of the drawers in her desk and points it at my head. "Tell me the whole truth or I'll swear I'll blow your head off."

It's my turn to smile now. I have them exactly where I wasn't expecting them to go, but they did, and now they're in my back pocket.

"Kill me and you'll never know the rest of the story," I say. Taking a bold move I grab the gun's mouth and shove it down against the table. "And don't journalist just thrive off knowing the truth, Jada?"

If looks could kill Jada Mercay would have a first-degree murder charge against her. I am surprised at how easily she got flustered and let me get under her skin. That calm and collected look clearly doesn't extend to when she gets in a tight spot. Amber still sits in the chair, not filing her nails anymore, but clearly taking in the situation.

"Here is what I think," says Amber. "Why are we fighting against each other, when we clearly are sharing the same interest?" Upon hearing her sister's voice of reason, Jada's face softens. "Yes, it sucks they have Cassidee, but when we get back in power we can pardon her anyways."

"Does Cassidee know?" I ask confused.

"Of course she knows. She's our best friend," says Jada. "She just doesn't think we're trying to take Snow down."

"I was close to your cousin," I say sadly. "Your aunt was a complete bitch, but Bryley was one of my best friends."

"Which is the only reason I haven't put a bullet in your head." says Jada.

"So where do we go from here?" I ask.

"I need to speak to Cassidee." says Amber.

* * *

 _All around me are familiar faces_  
 _Worn out places, worn out faces_  
 _Bright and early for their daily races_  
 _Going nowhere, going nowhere_

* * *

 **Cassidee Schapp, 29**

 **Undercover**

For someone who was such a rebellious and dangerous person in the past, Katherine lives such a boring life here in District 13. Work at seven in the morning, lunch at twelve in the afternoon, home by six. Everyday. Clyde is a stay at home dad, and he and Alma pretty much do whatever all day. So now, I sit in the hospital wing of District 13, listening to the ever pleasant elderly man who comes up with a different reason he is dying every day.

"I found a gray hair on my eyebrow" screams the old man. "It's clearly an infected hair that is going to eat the rest of my flesh after infecting the rest of my eyebrows." As much as I wish that statement were true, because it's not been long in the life of Katherine Farrow, but I really am sick of this old man to the point where if he did drop dead I wouldn't try to help.

"Henery," I say in a soothing voice. "You're not dying. You're seventy-one years old. As you age hair starts to gray. It's a perfectly natural occurrence. You're not going to die from it."

"You're sure?" Henery ask me.

"Unfortunately," I respond with a sarcastic smile.

Not catching on to my blatant indifference he thanks me for my help and walks out. I'm tempted to ask him if I'll see him the same time tomorrow, but the watch that Elijah gave me starts to light up. Finally! Something fun is going on.

I walk out of the hospital and down towards the secret basement that they took me in when they kidnapped me. The elevator to get down there needs a pupil identification, but mine is only activated when Elijah needs me down there.

When I walk up to the elevator the machine asks for my eye. I place my face in front of the scanner and a blue light shines up onto my face. "Welcome, Cassidee," it says as the door unlocks and I walk in.

As the elevator is going down I begin to take off the Katherine wig and mask. It's nice to be able to be me somewhere. Clyde asked me to keep all of it on at home unless I was in my room for Alma, he feels it will keep it consistent for her even though she knows Katherine is gone. Makes me roll my eyes even thinking about it, first-time parents.

When I get down to the base floor I walk out and see Elijah stressed out. Jess is on one screen cussing him out, yelling how everything is ruined now. On the other screen, I see a glimmer of light as Jada and Amber sit with Katherine. When they see me enter Jada screams in happiness.

"Cass!" she screams. "I knew it wasn't you the second this knock off sat down!"

"Hey!" says Katherine.

"What are you two doing? What's going on?" I ask confused.

"Katherine we're here to help take down Snow." says Amber, "We want you to know that you haven't been forgotten." says follows up, "but you're going to have to remain in there a while longer. We need Katherine. She's gone head to head with Snow and almost won."

"Almost won being the operative word!" I say. "They're clearly on board please bring me back!" I whine looking at Elijah. "I can't stand it here it's awful! Plus," I say looking back at Jada and Amber, "she failed once! What makes you think she won't again?!"

"She has something that she didn't have last time." says Jada.

"What's that?" I ask pouting, knowing the answer already.

"Us." she says with a smirk.

 **Well, that's an update for you. I think I hit pretty much everyone in this update and giving you a new piece of the puzzle. Those of you who read At Wits End, are you surprised by Jada and Amber's actual identity?**

 **Sorry, this is late, school work, actual work, and life are just overwhelming. Next chapter is District 7.**

 **Keep it classy,**

 **Caleb**


	13. District 7 Reapings

_I hear a train a coming_

 _It's rolling down the bend._

 _I ain't seen the sunshine since,_

 _I don't know when_

* * *

 **Eve Sumac, 17**

 **District 7 Female**

"Eve, do you know why you're here today?"

"This is a surprise birthday, right?" I ask. I hold my shackles and direct their eyes to my orange jumpsuit and smile. "Aren't I dressed for the occasion."

The parole board rolls their eyes and start writing down my response, and to be honest I don't even know why I'm here. Every time it's the same shit that they always throw at me. I'm not going to bend to what they want. I was justified in my actions. I don't need to explain.

"Ms. Sumac, you're here today to see if you're reformed enough to enter back into the everyday district 7 society." says the main judge. He has a long nose and spectacles that fall almost all the way down them. His grey beard would probably make him look like Santa Claus if he wasn't so thin. Working in an axe district tends to put you in good shape. "You're in here for the murder of Franklin Pickett. At the trial, you pleaded guilty, but the judge felt you were under duress upon it happening."

"I was under no duress," I respond calmly. "I stand by my choice."

The woman sitting next to the main parole board officer rolls her eyes and begins to write on her board. She opens up her mouth to ask a question when the door to the parole room opens. Annalise Pickett, the mother of the scumbag, walks in and takes a seat in the back of the room. She's the only other person in this room that has no business being here.

"Sorry I am late," she says calmly. "I had to run Brenna to my mothers."

"It's quite alright Ms. Pickett." says the female parole board officer. "Ms. Sumac, you seem unapologetic, and I feel that maybe an apology to the victim's family will not only help them understand why you did what you did, but give them some closure they need."

I shrug my shoulders. I've been hoping they'd ask me this question my last three parole hearings, I've had a speech ready since the second I was convicted. It's just never been the appropriate time.

I turn towards Ms. Pickett and clear my throat. I flip my hair over to my left shoulder and take a deep breath. "Ms. Pickett," I say looking at her. "I can say without a doubt, one hundred and fifty percent, that I'm absolutely _not_ sorry for killing your rapist of a child. He deserves every stab, every choke, and every cut he got. My only regret is that I didn't make it more painful." I turn away from her as she is wiping tears from her eyes, and look back at the panel, they've never heard the rape side of the story. Their eyes are bugging out of their head as they are scribbling feverishly.

"Can I leave now?"

* * *

 _I don't like walking around this old and empty house_

 _So hold my hand and I'll walk with you, my dear._

 _The stairs creak as I sleep it's keeping me awake_

 _It's the house telling you to close your eyes._

* * *

 **Aspen Marx, 18**

 **District 7 Male**

"Aspen you're going to work yourself to death boy!"

It's a common phrase where I'm from here in District 7. I always have had that go getter attitude, and never quite settled for just good enough. My mother, God bless her, had fertility issues. I was the only child that stuck, and because of that I'm determined to do everything I can to make me worth it.

My parents are old, they're in their early sixties. So supporting them is something that I've done since a young age. It also helps that because of all that work I've managed to get a killer body.

"Mom, this lumber needs to be chopped before I come in today, remember?"

"Don't you have homework?"

I smile as I lift the axe up and swing down on the last piece of wood. "That can wait. Mom!" I say. "Homework is for chumps."

I was blessed in the sense that my family was well off. I was even more blessed in the sense that they have an actual shower.

I walk into the house and head straight for the bathroom. Stripping off my clothes I turn on the water, and wait for it to get warm. After about fifteen minutes of standing I begin to actually shower, and then I get out. It's been a long day and I'm ready for bed.

Walking into my small room I immediately reach for the sleeping pants that my mother always yells at me for leaving on the floor, and put them on. Jumping into bed, I close my eyes, and I'm asleep before my eyes hit the pillow.

 _There is fire everywhere, buildings are burning down, and people are screaming. There are people on fire, and children running in the streets. There is a woman with brown hair running down the road. She is beat up and tired, and she is sporting some pretty bad burns. She runs towards the main square of District seven calling for a man's name._

 _A loud crack sounds and a large tree, that was called the victory tree, falls down and a big chunk of it lands on her torso. She was able to remove something from her back before the tree landed on her, and people began to swarm. My mother and father run up to her and try to get the tree off, but it's no use._

 _She passes the bag-like object she had on her back to my mom and says, "Please." and then she fades away. My mom and dad gasp as they open up the bag to see a baby in it._

I wake up screaming. It takes my parents a few minutes to get to my room, and by the time they sit down on the edge of my bed I have already started to catch my breath again. I tell them everything, about the woman, about the tree, about the baby. I can see my parents shift their eyes back and forth to each other as we talk.

"A long time ago there was a really bad fire in seven." begins my dad. "It destroyed everything in its path, but there was a woman who was running against it. She was trying to get away from her home that had already burned down, and she managed to get her son out of the fire alive, but when she made it to the square the Victory tree fell on her."

"Aspen, what you were seeing wasn't a bad dream…" says my mother. "It was a memory. A tragic memory that we were hoping would never resurface."

"W-what are you saying?"

"Aspen, we aren't your biological parents."

There are moments in life where everything suddenly doesn't make sense anymore. Where one moment you begin to think you have a one up, and then life laughs as she takes the carpet you've firmly planted your feet on and pulls.

"No," I say firmly. "No, I don't believe you. You're my parents." I say with tears welling up.

"We will always be your parents, son." says my dad as he grabs my hand. There is an intense feeling in the room, and I can't help but begin to cry. My parents come on either side of me, and we start into a family hug.

"We'll stay in here tonight." says mom. "I know you probably have a lot of questions."

"So many," I say as I stare blankly at the ceiling.

* * *

 _Well if they freed me from this prison,_

 _If they railroad train was mine._

 _I bet I'd move out over a little_

 _Further down the line._

* * *

 **Eve Sumac, 17**

 **District 7 Female**

In district seven, high ranking criminals aren't allowed to go to the reapings for fear of them doing something crazy. They take those of us who are illegible to a bunker like structure right next to the stage by the chance that one of us would get reaped. All of us in this room know one of us will be going in today.

It's not really the district's fault. They're given the opportunity to get rid of a serious criminal never having to worry about them doing another crime again, and if we're being honest here I'm the only one in here for murder.

"You nervous?" ask Dottie who's been my cellmate since I've been in the prison. She's fourteen years old and is in for vandalism and armed robbery.

"No," I respond.

"No talking." screams one of the peacekeepers.

They aren't too kind to me after I killed one of their own.

The audio in the room comes on, and we hear the escort announcing that they will announce boys first. A few moments pass before we hear the same voice come over the loud speaker in the bunker and hear.

"Aspen Marx."

The reapings have been weird for me ever since I was sixteen. We have to watch the games by law, but we never know who our tributes are until we get to watch the reapings once we get back to the prison. It's kind of fun that way I guess. We make unbiased opinions if we see all of them at once.

"Aspen was chosen for his skills and overall chance of survival." says the escort. "Now for the females."

They've already started moving the three male prisoners that they have in the bunker. They've started lining the girls up when we hear the name that shook me to my core over the loud speaker. "Eve Sumac."

The Peacekeeper smiles at me as he grabs my arm and leads me out of the bunker. The people all stand stone quiet as I walk out into the audience and up towards the stage.

"Eve was chosen for the murder of a Peacekeeper, Franklin Pickett." says the escort. "Yikes."

He's wearing an orange tuxedo a lot like my jumpsuit that I bet he's regretting so hard right now. When I get up to the front he looks at me and whispers if there is anything I'd want to say. I nod as he places the mic in front of my handcuffed hands.

"You voted me in for killing a Peacekeeper," I say indefinitely. "I feel no remorse because I killed a rapist."

The crowd begins to boo as the guard uncuffed my hands. For the first time in three year's, Eve Sumac is free.

 **Sorry this took so long! I styled this one a little different because I wanted to get Aspen and his story out there, but I promise they both had two pages of POVs. Eve's was just separated.**

 **Let me know what you guys think. Loving your input and the support I've been getting.**

 **Keep it classy,**

 **Caleb**


	14. District 8 Reapings

_Trouble is her only friend and he's back again_

 _Makes her body older than it really is_

 _And she says it's high time she went away_

 _No one's got much to say in this time_

 _Trouble is the only way is down,_

* * *

 **Angelica Winter, 18**

 **District 8 Female**

You'd think in such a civilized place like Panem, or at least somewhere that is more developed than the stone age, would have somewhere a little better to hold their death row prisoners than a bunker under the mayor's house.

The person in the cell next to mine snores loudly, and most of my nights aren't spent sleeping, but at a bottom of the bottle that one of the guards slide me due to who I was before this. Before Chris, before self-discovery, before when I was just a beat up and scared the little girl. Back when life was miserable, not that this is any better.

Tomorrow is the day that I'm hanged in the middle of the square for everyone to see.

"Psst." says a familiar voice that I haven't heard from in awhile. "Psst!"

"Dash?" I ask confused looking around. There is no one that is at the door to my cell, but when I turn to the barred window that allows minimal sunlight into my cell during the day, I see a flashlight being shone through.

"Angelica, dad doesn't know I'm here. Hurry."

I get up from the hard spring cot that I was laying on and walk over to the window. My brother slides a bottle into my room of an old scotch from my father's office. I smile as I uncork it and take a deep sniff. It's nice to smell something other than moonshine and cheap vodka.

"I tried talking him out of it all day, Angelica." says Dash as she frowns.

"I know you did, bud," I say with a weak smile. "He's a hard man, and you know he's always blamed me for mom's death."

"It's not your fault Mom was hemophilic. She knew the risk of getting pregnant again," he responds with an eye roll. He reaches his large hand through the bars and grabs my hand. I squeeze it reassuringly.

"I'll be okay," I say with a genuine-sounding voice. "Death is possibly the kindest thing that Mr. Mayor could ever do for me."

"All you have to do is give up Chris." says Dash.

"We aren't doing this again, Dash," I say. "He was the only one who was there for me on dad's drunken nights and the only one who ever gave a damn."

"I gave a damn."

"No, you care that I'm dying tomorrow morning," I say taking the bottle up to my lips and taking a big swig. "But let's see if I can't even focus on dying tomorrow. Thanks for the booze." I say as I cross back to the cot.

He waits for a second, but then sighs and gets up from the barred window and walks back up to the house.

* * *

 _Just waking up in the morning_

 _And the be well_

 _Quite honest with ya,_

 _I ain't really sleep well_

* * *

 **Miles Dart, 18**

 **District 8 Male**

"You're sure you want that, kid?" ask the butcher as I hold a few coins out to him.

"Yes, vote me in," I respond as I take the meat and begin to walk out of the store.

"Why?"

I shrug, That's a good question, but it all comes down to this I guess, I should be dead anyways. "I've cheated death enough," I respond.

"Your father won't be happy about you telling people that, Miles."

"Good thing he isn't my father right?"

I walk out of the store carrying the turkey for tonight's dinner. Dad's having the entire unit over for a night of relaxation and celebration. Angelica Winter is dying tomorrow night, and she's done a number of stupid things. I personally don't see how the mayor can kill his own daughter, but I guess a weapon smuggler should get the max penalty.

"Psst." I hear from the alleyway as I pass it down the street. I turn and look at it confused, and then turn around to keep walking. "Psst!" I hear again.

"Yes..?" I ask a still invisible person.

"Come in the alleyway, dumbass." a man's voice responds.

I walk into the alleyway against my better judgment and immediately drop the turkey. Chris Stapleton stands in front of me, and I immediately pull out the taser that Landon gave me in a case of an emergency.

"Stay where you are," I say.

"Relax kid," he says. "I'm not here to hurt you, but I need a favor."

"As if!" I respond angrily. "You're on the district's most wanted list. Helping you could get me hanged."

"If you don't an innocent girl is going to be hanged instead in a few hours."

* * *

 _As strong as you are_

 _Tender you got_

 _I'm watching you breathing._

 _For the last time_

* * *

 **Angelica Winter, 18**

 **District 8 Female**

It's the day of reckoning. Any minute a peacekeeper is going to walk down the hallway and come to my cell. I couldn't bring myself to drink away my last night of life. There was too much stuff to think about, too many memories I wanted to replay over again. You can't do that on a drunk mind.

The door at the entrance to the cell block opens, and I take a deep breath. A young boy that looks to be about eighteen is standing before my door. He is in uniform, but I still have never seen him before. He doesn't look at me and doesn't say a word to me as he unlocks my cell and pulls out the handcuffs to cuff me. I turn around and place my hands behind my back as the young man cuffs my hands together.

"You're new," I say to him as well walk down the hallway. He remains silent and doesn't say a word. When we arrive at the end of the cell block I close my eyes to prepare for the light that my eyes aren't adjusted to. It's overwhelming when the sun streams down onto my face, but I love it. He tries to start walking but I fall because I can't see.

"I just need a second," I say as I try to blink my eyes to get them accustomed. He doesn't say anything but instead pushes me farther up the stairs. I roll my eyes as I stumble up the stairs and stop when we get to the top. I hear a whistle, but it doesn't sound like a bird, and it's not melodic enough for someone who is just whistling to whistle.

The next thing I know the boy is uncuffing my hands and when I turn around he looks nervous.

"Punch me hard and run." he says.

"What?"

"Punch me hard, and run!" he repeats urgently. "We have about a ten-minute margin, and the longer you take to run the shorter you have to get away."

"I-i-i" I begin to stutter.

The boy then takes the blunt stick he has on his belt and brings it to his face. I yelp as I see him fall down the stairs, but stops before he gets to the bottom. He moves, so I know he's okay.

"What the hell?!" I say as a hand grabs onto my arm. I turn to see Chris staring at me. "What the fu-" he kisses me on the mouth and then pulls apart. "Let's go!" he says.

I run with him, and then suddenly he falls to the ground. I turn to see blood dripping down his leg, and I let out a horrendous scream. The peacekeepers run up to him and place the gun to his temple and pull the trigger. I fall to my knees and cry as I try and throw myself onto his body, but the peacekeepers just dismiss me.

"Go away, Angelica," they say. "You were just bait to lure him out anyways."

"What?" I ask shocked.

"As if the mayor would kill his daughter." the Peacekeeper responds.

* * *

 _Until the referee rings the bell_

 _Until both, your eyes start to swell_

 _Until the crowd goes home_

 _What we gonna do y'all?_

* * *

 **Miles Dart, 18**

 **District 8 Male**

"What the hell were you thinking, Son?!" ask Landon as he stares at me.

"I didn't have anything to lose," I say as I shrug my shoulders.

"You have a nice life, Miles."

"I should be dead!" I scream staring at him. "You should have killed me."

"You were three years old, Miles! Stop acting like the world is out to get you. Have you ever thought that maybe it's helping you!? You could be on the streets right now. Instead, you're in one of the most wealthy households in the district!"

"I never asked for any of this!" I scream.

His face looks shocked. He picks his hands up and places both over his face and then slaps his palms on the table. "You don't understand what you've done." he looks at me. "You've upset Mayor Winter. This cannot go unnoticed, and he certainly isn't going to let it go unpunished. You have opened yourself up for so much trouble."

"Maybe it's time that I finally got what I deserve," I say as I get up and head out the door.

The district reapings are today.

When I get through the line and check in I look around the crowd to see if I can find the girl from yesterday. She at least has to be alive for this. When I spot her standing in the roped off 18-year-old girl area I run over to where she is.

"Are you okay?"

"Do I look okay?" she slurs. She's drunk.

I roll my eyes as the escort comes onto the stage and looks totally uninterested as she begins speaking.

"As usual, ladies first."

She already has the envelopes in her hands. She clearly doesn't want to be here longer than needed.

"The female tribute for this year is Angelica Winter. She was chosen for being a weapon smuggler?" she looks out into the audience surprised. "Damn girl, where do you hang out to get a reputation like that?" she asks.

The girl I saved yesterday stumbles up to the front and then smiles. She takes the mic out of the escorts hand and looks out into the audience. "Dad, are you happy now? Finally got rid of me!" she screams. She turns to face the mayor, and as she spins around, she trips over the mic cord. "You'll never ever ever have to worry about me again!" she says as she flips him the bird. "All done," she says as she hands the mic back to the escort.

Peacekeepers help her to the back of the stage in the justice building as she stumbles around the stage, the mayor, and his son follow them in.

"The male tribute is Miles Dart." says the escort. No one noticed that she had even opened the envelope, and when I finally processed that she did I processed the name she spoke. I begin to slowly walk up to the front and looked out into the audience. "Miles got voted in for helping an escaped felon." says the escort. "District 8 you have some classy tributes this year." says the escort.

She rolls her eyes and walks off the stage and towards the justice building. Landon comes up behind me and puts his arm around me with tears in his eyes as we walk in together.

 **Well, this chapter was a mixed emotion for me.**

 **Not that I'm going to beg for reviews, but there are some people who got in that I haven't seen since the prologs. If I don't know you're reading, and then I kill your tribute in the bloodbath, you better not PM me angry about why did your tribute die. Not being rude, just keeping it real.**

 **Keep it classy,**

 **Caleb**


	15. District 9 Reapings

**Trigger Warning: District 9 Male has a suicidal tendency, please don't read if you are triggered by this. A fanfic is not worth your mental health. Also, the trigger warning extends to the first paragraph of his second POV only, then it clears up.**

* * *

 _I've seen it before_

 _It happens all the time_

 _You're closing the door_

 _You leave the world behind_

* * *

 **Gretchen Creek "Kara Castile", 16**

 **District 9 Female**

Ivanka Anderson is a sixteen-year-old beauty. She was a straight A student, a smile so white it would blind you if she threw it your way, and she is a Cabinet member's daughter. Ivanka grew up with a little girl named Vivi, and when the Mayor of District 9 went rogue a few years back, they sent Vivi's dad down here to clean up the mess. Ivanka has visited her every year since.

Only this time, Ivanka wasn't on her train to come back home to the good old Capitol. This time when her father came to pick her up at the train station Ivanka didn't get off. So what happened? Word on the street is that Ivanka and Vivi went to a little party the night before her train took off. Ivanka was drunk, Vivi was in a stupor, and no one has seen Ivanka since that night. At least no one who will admit it.

"This is Agent Iron checking in," I say into the watch that the Capitol gave me. "I've had the target on lock for about two days now, and I'm still waiting for your okay to take him out."

"Patience Agent Iron." says the same female voice that I hear every time I ask to take him out.

I hate District 9. It's probably one of the most boring districts they have sent me to. Xavier Basta has been abusing his power as a Peacekeeper, and the Capitol has finally had enough. He's currently walking out of the brothel he owns that is notorious on this part of town. "Cleanest in the district". I was confused when I initially got this assignment, I quickly found out why Xavier was marked by the Capitol. They think the Head Peacekeeper is the kidnapper of Ivanka Anderson.

His red beard is way to scraggly for someone who makes as much money as him. His build is about average, so he definitely has an advantage over me based on physical stature. Wits wise I don't see him being that much of a threat. He's a little meaty and has that "my second cousin is also my father" look about him.

"I've been patient," I respond haughtily. "I'm ready to do something. I don't see how much intel I'm supposed to grab from afar."

The female voice sighs and I hear her mumbling things to The Director as she is trying to figure out what to do.

"See if the girl is in the brothel, but be careful Agent Iron. This risk has a lot at stake."

"I always get the job done." I snap back. "I don't need to hear the basics."

I click off the communication and stand up from the bushes that I was observing from. I straighten out my clothes and make sure there are no leafs in my hair, and walk towards the brothel.

* * *

 _Sunday is gloomy_

 _My hours are slumberless_

 _Dearest the shadows_

 _I live with are numberless_

 _Little white flowers will_

 _Never awaken you_

* * *

 **Cyrus Turner, 17**

 **District 9 Male**

The alarm goes off and my eyes shoot open. Another day on the earth that's done nothing for me to begin with. Mom is down in the kitchen making the same slop like substance that she makes every day because we are poor. Dad is down in the living room with the same bottle of moonshine he bought off the black market here in 9 that he drinks every day. Cynthia is yapping about some boy that she likes in her class. I'm just here.

There's not really a purpose if you're here in 9. There isn't really purpose if you're in the Districts, actually. Even the career districts are purposed to die, and if they don't die they're purposed to be a trophy. What kind of a life is that? If you're not from the Capitol, here in Panem you aren't worth anything.

Every day is one step at a time. Breakfast, shower, work. Following these at least gives me something to do, and something to keep my mind off of It. First on the list is breakfast. I turn my feet off the bed and plant them on the ground. I look over at my nightstand and see It sitting so perfectly still. So sharp, but there is a gentle hum calling to me, telling me one "accident" and it could all be over.

"Hello, old friend," I say as I look down at It.

It has a single purpose of making me feel like I'm nothing. Reminding me just how fickle I am, and reminding me that life is something that could be taken from me in an instant. It is something I long to have trace across my skin. Long to have it sink deeper and deeper until I can't feel anymore.

The Peacekeepers drive cars around, and sometimes I think that if one was coming directly at me, and I was standing in the way it would be so easy to just not move. Not knowing what comes after this life is the only thing that keeps me alive. Because if I have to choose between being conscious of a nothing, and unconscious for a nothing...at least with a conscious I'll still know what's going on.

* * *

I've seen it before

It happens all the time

You're closing the door

You leave the world behind

* * *

 **Gretchen Creek "Kara Castille", 16**

 **District 9 Female**

"Dispatch, I'm in the building, I repeat I'm in the building. I'm moving towards the hostage now."

There is a long hallway lined with multiple curtains. Various men are walking in and out from behind the curtains, and one by one they leave looking excited. Some check me out as I walk past, and others complete disregard my existence.

I round the corner and see a door with a padlock on it. It sits at the end of that hallway with a red X on it. I go to the padlock and begin picking at it. This was one of the things I never could grasp when they trained my class. Of course, everything else was pretty easy. You catch on quick, but this was awful.

"Come on you stupid booger," I mumble to myself as I continue to play with the padlock.

"You're not permitted to be back there." says a suave male voice.

I turn and see a young man, red hair, fit body, looks a lot like Xavier. He stands in an offensive position and I instantly turn on the water works. He is taken aback by my response to him finding me, and this is what I need to sell it.

"I-I c-c-came in here on a d-d-dare and I couldn't find my way out," I say really fast and with a stutter to seem less threatening. "I wanted to hide!"

"Now now." says the younger version of Xavier as he walks towards me and pulls a syringe out of his pocket. He uncaps the needle and begins to walk towards me. I back against the wall as he gets closer and he stops to look at me one more time.

"Shame you had to come in here." he said.

He goes to jab the needle in me when I spring into action. I quickly roll along the wall to get out of the way, and then maneuver to where I am behind him. He is surprised, and his reaction time isn't the best. When I'm behind him I grab his hand and inject the needle into his neck and press down on the syringe. He tries to fight off the feeling in his body, but he slowly starts to go down.

"Shame you have to be such a douche bag," I say as I reach down onto his belt loop and grab the keys. I go to the door and unlock it, and when I open it I see Ivanka sitting on a bed in the corner curled up in a ball. She looks petrified and cringes when she sees me.

"Ivanka?" I ask as she looks up and nods twice. She shakes in fear as she gives me eye contact.

"My name is Kara, I'm going to take you back to your father now, but I need you to hurry."

She nods quickly and gets off the bed. We run down the hallway and out the front door before anyone noticed anything of the difference.

"Ivanka, you're home free," I say with a smile as we hurry along the busy District in search of the mayor's house.

* * *

 _Ever returning you_

 _Would they be angry_

 _If I thought of joining you_

 _Gloomy Sunday_

* * *

 **Cyrus Turner, 17**

 **District 9 Male**

As weird as this sounds I've always enjoyed the reapings. Though I'm scared of dying, but drastically want to die, I've always liked the idea of being reaped. Being forced to go through with my urges would be helpful. I couldn't take someone else's life, but I could let someone take mine.

"Greetings, District 9!" says our Escort. She's entirely too happy and has light blue hair. Her skin is sickly pale, and her freckles illuminate on her face. She is short and stubby, and you can tell she's never gone hungry a day in her life.

"We'll just move right along with the girls." says the escort. She walks back to the girl's bowl and pulls out the single envelope. Walking back she trips over the mic cord and takes a stumble, and her face turns bright red. She turns around and looks at the other people on the stage and scolds them.

"HAVE YOU LOST YOUR EVER LOVING MIND?! LET ME HELP YOU FIND IT!" she screams as she walks over to the man that is manning the camera. She throws the camera that is closest to her on the ground and then grabs the man by the collar of his shirt. "YOU TAPE THE DAMN CORDS YOU NIMROD!" She throws him back and then clears her throat and smiles at the camera. "Now where were we?" she says.

She opens up the envelope and clears her throat one more time before she reads the name "Kara Castille." The audience is murmuring because no one knows who the girl is, and she herself looks absolutely in shock when her name is called. She doesn't look scared, just shocked. She walks up to the stage hesitantly and then looks at the camera.

"Kara was picked...well, there isn't actually a reason on the card." says the escort. "Lucky you," she says as she turns around and walks back to the boy's bowl. She picks the envelope out and walks back to the mic.

"The male tribute from District 9 is...Cyrus Turner!"

I don't feel any one given emotion. There is something about being reaped that satisfies me in this moment, and then also terrifies me. For each emotion, I'm feeling there is an equal and just as powerful opposition to it.

"Cyrus was chosen because the kid is a few crayons short of a full set if you know what I mean!" says the Escort as she flashes a smile to the camera. She takes a deep breath and hurries me to get to the stage. When I get to join her and Kara she grabs our hands and raises them in the air.

"DISTRICT 9 I GIVE YOU YOUR TRIBUTES! KARA AND CYRUS!"

 **Scream Queens has broken me beyond repair tonight. I'm feeling emotions I didn't even know were emotions.**

 **This was supposed to come out on Monday per usual, but I'm trying to pass this one class and it's slowly killing me and I've been stressed out. So sorry this is a little late. If you were insulted by Cyrus, I apologize also, because I never want to bring back bad memories or feelings. Hence the trigger warning.**

 **With all that said and done…**

 **Keep it classy,**

 **Caleb**


	16. District 10 Reapings

_Letting go of every single dream._

 _I lay each one down at your feet._

 _Every moment of my wondering,_

 _never changes what you see._

* * *

 **Savannah Sage, 15**

 **District 10 Female**

I don't have long before this candle burns out. Ideally, night time in the backyard isn't the best place to read, and this book isn't exactly the most legal in Panem, but I need to read it.

There are moments in your life where things just make sense. Where something you've been searching for, even if you didn't know you were, comes along and just slaps you in the face. Though I'm not sure if I would ever say this out loud in a country like Panem, Jesus did that for me.

Sometimes standing up for what you believe in and doing what you're told to do don't add up. I don't consider myself rebellious, because now that I've accepted Christ, I don't see my life being able to be lived without him. He's everywhere, and in everything. When I look up at the stars I see his wonder, and when I look at other people I'm in awe of how much detail he went in making us. Every person here is made up of different personalities. Different shapes, and different ideas. Finding out about Jesus gave me hope, and that's exactly why religion is banned from Panem.

My grandmother always said that hope can drown out even the most dramatic of fears. The Capitol is surviving as well as it does because of the fact that we don't have hope. We don't have anything to grasp onto. We're to busy trying to figure out how to survive, so how can we think of anything else. We're to scared of being reaped, so how can we think of anything else. We're too scared of being whipped at the town square, so why would we do anything that doesn't coincide with the Capitol?

I've found something that is bigger than me. My grandmother introduced me to everything that changed me, and now there isn't any way back. I would go to the whipping stands gladly, and confronted with a choice of Jesus or life, I would choose him. Because he is the way, the truth, and the life.

I pull out my journal and begin to write the prayers I write every day before I go to sleep. Flipping through the pages I see so many answered prayers, and some I'm still waiting to fall through, but I know that it will all happen according to his will. So I wait.

 _Dear Jesus,_

I begin writing, and scribbling down my thoughts and desires. How I long to find someone that I can one day love and trust enough to tell about how much I also love Jesus. I pray for grandma that is now in prison for promoting religion. I also pray for my parents, and how I long for them to see what grandma would talk about wasn't just fairy tale stories.

 _I pray all these things in your name,_

 _Amen_

* * *

 _I'm a hard workin' man_

 _I wear a steel hard hat_

 _I can ride, rope, hammer and paint_

 _Do things with my hands that most men can't_

 _I can't get ahead no matter how hard I try_

 _I'm gettin' really good at barely gettin' by_

* * *

 **Zebedee Barnes, 17**

 **District 10 Male**

I sit in the lobby of the Mayor's office with a big smile on my face. This internship is everything I've worked so hard for, and dang it I've earned it if I'm being completely honest. I've worked my butt off in school, and my family's farm for years for this. I've charmed, I've brown nosed, and I've impressed the right amount of people to finally end up here.

The last three people who've gotten this coveted internship have all been the next mayor of District 10. I don't mind sweating outside, but if I had to choose between a life of working in a field forever, or running an entire district? District wins everytime. I'd never have to worry about my family, or if I would have enough to eat. My parents could finally rest easy after all of their years of hard work. I could finally pay them back.

The phone rings and the secretary answer it on the second ring.

"Mhhm. Mhhm. Yeah. Okay." she says hanging up the phone. "Mr. Barnes, the Mayor will see you now."

Mr. Barnes. I like it.

I get up from the chair that I was in and straighten out the old suit that my grandfather let me borrow for this interview. It's nothing fancy, but when I'm the next mayor I can buy all the suits I'd ever want.

I walk over to the door and grab the handle. This is it. This is my one chance. I take a deep breath and walk through the door. When I enter the office I see the mayor sitting behind his desk. He has a number of resumes and is sifting through them as I walk in.

"Yes, Zebedee, please take a seat over there," he says with a smile as he indicates to the couches next to the coffee table. "I'll be with you shortly."

* * *

 _You are my strength and comfort._

 _You are my steady hand._

 _You are my firm foundation, the rock on which I stand._

 _Your ways are always higher._

 _Your plans are always good._

 _There is no place where I'll go, you've not already stood!_

* * *

 **Savannah Sage, 16**

 **District 10 Female**

It was under my mattress when I went to sleep last night. I can't find it now. This is bad. This is really bad. If someone finds that journal, and it gets into the wrong hands, I'm screwed. I'll get imprisoned. I don't think a girl like me can survive prison.

Looking around my room I see that everything is torn up. Clothes are scattered all around the floor, the sheets are torn off my bed. The bible and journal are the only things I can't find in this stupid room.

"Savannah, can you come in here?" dad's voice sounds firm and angry.

When I walk out into the living room I see Dad and Mom sitting with two Peacekeepers. They look angry, and mom and dad look frightened. Dad holds my journal in his hand, and mom holds the bible in her hands. The peacekeepers have very serious looks on their face.

"Savannah, our neighbor last night thought she saw you reading something in the backyard by candlelight. She came and informed us about it with two Peacekeepers., and when they went to search your room during classes today they found these. Do you know what these are?"

"Yes," I say matter of factly, but not near the amount of confidence I wanted.

"Surely this is some sort of mistake," says Dad. "Surely the book was planted in your room by grandma, right?" says dad with a leading tone. I know what he's trying to do, and I refuse to do it. I knew that this was a possibility when I started my walk with the Lord, and I won't back down now because of some scary men in some white uniforms.

"No," I say to my dad. "No, it isn't a mistake. This is mine. Read the prayers, it's in my handwriting. This is my bible. Jesus is alive, and he's inside of me."

One of the Peacekeeper rips the bible and journals out of my parent's hand, and the other one comes to me and ushers me to stand up. He cuffs my hands and begins to walk with me outside of the door. Mom is screaming, and dad is holding her back from coming to get me. When I walk out I saw the neighbor that called the Peacekeepers on me.

"I knew you were a bad egg." she said as I walked by with my head held high.

When we get to the back of the Peacekeeper's vehicle, I pause and look at the woman with a genuine face. "I forgive you," I say as I duck into the back of the squad car. Her face is a mix of shock and confusion as I drive off.

* * *

 _Got everything I own_

 _By the sweat of my brow_

 _From my four-wheel drive to my cowboy boots_

 _I owe it all to my blue collar roots_

 _I feel like I'm workin' overtime on a runaway train_

 _I've got to bust loose from this ball and chain_

* * *

 **Zebedee Barnes, 17**

 **District 10 Male**

I got the call this morning. The internship interview went better than I could have hoped, and I'm one of the final four that the mayor is picking from. There is a follow-up interview with the remaining four candidates directly after the reapings, and I can't wait to experience beating the rest of the contestants!

My parents and I celebrated all morning, but during our celebration, I forgot how long it took to get to town square, and now I'm in the back of the seventeen-year-old section where the prisoners are also located. The escort is already out on stage talking about the twist of the Quarter Quell, and how we are ultimately bad people here in the districts. Blah, blah, blah. Next, please.

"We shall start with the female tribute for this year."

She goes to walk back to the bowl, but before she grabs the envelope the mayor comes up and whispers something in her ear.

"Are we allowed to do that?" I'm sure she asked louder than intended. The mayor continues to whisper and she nods. She turns around, leaving the female tribute envelope in the bowl, and walks back to the microphone. "By order of the Capitol, they have deemed that the female tribute for District 10 is to be decided by the leadership in charge. After much deliberation, they've decided that Savannah Sage will be the District 10 Female. With her death will prove once and for all that there is no God."

A young girl behind me lets out a small yelp, and an older woman immediately closes her eyes and puts her hands on the little girl. She's whispering frantically, and I'm not sure if she's hurting her or what.

The Peacekeepers grab the girl and lead her up to the stage where she takes a deep breath and asks to see the mic. The escort hesitantly hands it over and the girl talks into it.

"Whether or not I come back from these games doesn't coincide the existence of God. His plans are not always ours, and though I would love to come back, I know that my faith is all I need to truly live."

Boos from the audience roar as the escort rushes to gain control of the situation again. "People, people calm down and let's see your male tribute!" she says with a smile. She walks to the back and pulls out the card and walks to the microphone again. She smiles as she opens up the card and reads out. "Zebedee Barnes!" I freeze. There is no way she said my name. "Zebedee was chosen because of his hard work and character. He surely has a chance to get through to the end."

I walk up to the stage and try and put a brave face on. I always wanted to win an election. I just didn't have this particular one in mind.

 **I loved both of these.**

 **Disclaimer: I have no Victor as of yet. Though I am a Christian this is my official statement: if Savannah does lose these games I am NOT saying that God does not exist. I believe 100% that God exist. I believe he is my savior, and I believe that he is great. Like I said, sometimes our idea of what it should be isn't what his is.**

 **Keep it classy,**

 **Caleb**


	17. District 11 Reapings

_Alice, the world is full of ugly things_

 _That you can't change_

 _Pretend it's not that way_

 _It's my idea of faith_

* * *

 **Fir Ascia, 17**

 **District 11 Female**

I've never been smart. If I'm being completely honest I've never needed to be. I've always had a great understanding of the fact that I'm destined to be a mediocre worker in District 11. It's not that I don't have ambition, or have dreams. I just think in a world where I live it's smart to have proper expectations of the place in which you inhabit.

"Couple more crates, Fir." says the shipping manager from his lawn chair that he "supervises" us from. He sits with a cold glass of lemonade in his hand as the rest of us work in the hot sun. His idea of hard work is probably getting up from the chair. "Stop dozing off girl, or I'll have to let you go!"

I roll my eyes, this man is never going to let me go. For one, I'm one of the only female workers that can actually lift a full apple crate, and that in itself is invaluable in this field of work. The men that I work with are quick, and they get the job done, but they need someone to clean up the messes that they make when they slam down the apple crates in every which direction.

As I lift up the last of the crates we're shipping off to District 5, I take a sigh of relief. Another long day at work has passed and I'm able to finally go home.

This is my favorite part of the day. I was never able to go to school, but my dad did when he was a kid. He's kind of old, and when the dark days started he was in 8th grade. He has taught me all he remembers, but he's 42 now. He taught me how to read, though, and to be honest, that's better off than most of our district.

As I walk down the busy roads of District 11 I see the people that live here. We all have stories, and we all have a hard life. That's the thing about District 11 is even the most well off are still controlled and broken down by the Capitol. I believe it's because they know if we ever got together we could easily take our District. We are the most densely populated District, and we all have strong wills.

But they teach us to hate each other, and to look out only for ourselves. Because of that we will never have it easy.

I stop when I get in front of my small house. I look at it, and I can't help but crack a smile. We might have it hard, but I have a loving parent, and he would do anything for me. I have a growing library of things that I try to understand when I read, and I have a roof over my head. Like I said, it's not like I don't have dreams and ambitions, but I have expectations that are reasonable. In a District like 11, that's something you need to be happy.

* * *

 _Cause you were so much better  
Than the rest of them  
Out of all the others  
You were the honest man_

* * *

 **Rocko Warner, 16**

 **District 11 Male**

I've never liked my district. Everyone is always so doom and gloom, and if I'm being completely honest they're mostly rude. I've been called a lot in my day. A thief, a jerk, "hey kid get your ass off my property before I beat it!", but I've never actually gotten into any trouble. Not because I don't cause any, though.

I'm a very devious person because I feel that in a District where justice isn't handled correctly, sometimes you have to handle it yourself. If someone steals from the little old lady down the way, and the Peacekeeper doesn't do anything about it, I feel it's my job to do something about it. My methods are less than ideal in Panem, but at the same time, if Panem did its job I wouldn't have to use my methods.

Today I'm hitting the Ascia place. The Father is an absolute asshole who knocked over Teena Aroz's cart of fruit they were selling and didn't even help pick it up. Some of the fruit rolled into the street and was trampled by oncoming traffic. You can't just mess with People's livelihoods like that and get off scotch free.

There is a tree that's super close to their house that I'm going to chop down, and hopefully, it'll hit it.

It's late, maybe around three in the morning. The ax that I have hanging from my belt is heavy, and I'm not used to handling such big objects, but I'm not too worried about not being able to complete the task.

When I get to their house I sneak up to the big oak tree that rests in their yard. This would surely crush their house, and potentially them inside of it. He deserves it, though. He's a bad man.

I pick up the ax and bring it back to swing towards the tree and chop into the thick bark. It was louder than I anticipated for but doubtful that someone would wake up to hear it. I continue to swing and make contact with the tree, and watch as the trunk starts shrinking as I continue to chop away.

I'm nowhere near the middle after ten minutes of chopping at the tree, and I realize that this is going to be harder than I thought initially.

* * *

 _You can blow it off_

 _And say there's good in nearly everyone_

 _Just them all a chance_

 _Now let's give them all a chance_

* * *

 **Fir Ascia, 17**

 **District 11 Female**

It's 3:30 in the morning and my body hates me because I'm up at 3:30 in the morning to go pee. I get out of my bed, and cross down the hallway to the bathroom, and try to go as fast as I can. The reapings are tomorrow, and I don't get days where I can sleep in often.

As I finish washing my hands, I begin my walk down the hallway and hear a strange sound. It sounds like something is making a hard contact outside of our house. I walk into the living room, and cross to the window to look into the yard and see a figure in all black chopping down, or at least trying to chop down, the tree in our front yard. He's chopping it from the streets side, though, and if you know, by next Christmas, when he finally gets through the bark, it'll come crashing down into our house.

I quickly rush outside and see the hooded figure continuing to hack away at the tree. When I make a coughing noise to let them know I'm here, I see them jump up.

"Is there a problem?" I ask confused.

The figure, upon further inspection, is a boy. He can't be more than 18 years old. He is average height, and has an athletic build. As I ask the question I see him grip the axe tighter, but by the way he's reacting scared to the situation I don't see him swinging at me.

"No, you can't." he says "Go back inside."

"I sure will." I respond. "After you leave. Or I can call a Peacekeeper."

"They won't believe you." he said.

"An armed man, in all black, gets confronted by a teenage girl," I say playing the scenario in my head. "For some reason I like my chances of them believing me."

"You're going to regret this." he says as he turns around begins to walk away from my yard.

"I'm sure I won't!" I call with a chipper voice.

When I get back in the house, it's not 3:45 in the morning, and I've wasted 15 minutes of my valuable sleep.

"Damn kid, messing with my sleep day."

* * *

 _He loved guns and roses,_

 _Guns and roses_

 _He loved guns and roses,_

 _He loved guns_

 _And roses, roses, roses_

* * *

 **Rocko Warner, 16**

 **District 11 Male**

I still can't believe that that idiot girl stopped me from chopping down her tree last night! I had it all planned out, and her dad deserves to be punished for what he did. That stupid girl has a lot coming her way for getting in my way. Now I'm going to get the family back twice as hard.

My thoughts are interrupted as the escort for District 11 walks on stage. They have red lipstick smeared all over their face, and the rest of their make up isn't much better. She's smiling in a weird fashion, and it makes me a tad uncomfortable.

"You're welcome for me being here today!" she says happily. "I know, it's not often you see someone of my fame level in District 11, but don't worry, I'm nice to my fans."

The audience is quiet, and the girl puts her hand over heart as she nods her head in a dramatic fashion. "I knew it," she says happily. "You're so touched that I'm here you're speechless." she wipes her nose with the sleeve of her dress and takes a deep breath through it at the same time. It makes for a really unappealing sound. "Let's get started. I don't want to make you guys feel worse than you already do."

She walks back to the girls bowl and grabs the envelope. She rushes back to the microphone and smiles as she begins to open the paper seal, but is clearly having a hard time. When she finally gets the seal open she smiles at the audience. "I just want to let this little girl know, that no matter what she does, I will always be more famous than you," she says. "The District 11 female tribute is Fir Ascia! She was chosen because she's strong and has a good moral compass."

Ha! Serves her right for last night. I guess I don't have to work twice as hard to get her back, karma already did it for me. She walks up to the stage a little nervous, and you can tell that she is shook. Her eyes appear blurry as she shows up on the large screen.

"Now for the boys!" she runs back to the stage and grabs the envelope but this time she throws it at Fir as she stands next to her. "Open this!" she says as she holds up a thumbs up and smiles at the audience. As Fir rolls her eyes and opens the envelope the girl grabs the card. "You don't get to read it! Gosh, you're not even famous." she looks out into the audience and says "Rocko Warner!"

My heart sinks as she calls my name, and I wasn't expecting this at all.

"Rocko was chosen because he's a bad guy. ROCKO!" she says angrily. "You can't be a bad guy. You're going into the games now. You better let them kill you or something. You don't deserve to be famous."

I walk up to the stage angry as the girl continues to talk about how she's "so much more famous" than all of us in the District.

 **Well that's District 11! I had an idea for the district escort and just couldn't resist.**

 **One more reapings! I'm excited.**

 **Keep it classy,**

 **Caleb**


	18. District 12 Reapings

_Now I'm just chasing time_

 _With a thousand dreams I'm holding heavy_

 _And as we cross the line these fading beats have all been severed_

 _Don't tell me our youth is running out_

 _It's only just begun_

* * *

 **Asami Dawn, 16**

 **District 12 Female**

If you look at the world in the complexity of what it is, you realize a number of things. One, the world is a lot like a puzzle. The more you look at the more you see things clicking into place, and if you don't fit in, if you don't find your place, well, that's just the hand you were dealt. Two, if you don't fit into the world life is significantly harder for you. Three, You can choose to let the difficult life overcome you, or you can fight back and not let it define you.

I'm stronger than letting something overcome me like that.

I love this street that I'm on. I don't stay in a lot of places for very long, but I try and stay a little bit longer on the weeks I stay on this street. There is something about the people, the shops, the fact that the baker always leaves the old bread out next to the garbage so I can come grab it. It just feels like...well, it feels like home.

"Oh look, it's the street rat Asami. What are you doing on this road, street trash? Don't you know this is for people of worth?"

Except for that. That doesn't feel like home.

Brandon O'Malley has had it out for me ever since I was a kid. I have no clue what I did to him, or what his issue is, but it's always ended with him insulting me. Don't get me wrong, I'm a strong girl, but words have a way of sticking to you. Brandon's words have always affected me on the inside.

I stop and turn around to face him, He's in a posh navy blue suit, with his hair combed neatly to the side. His bright blue eyes are bright as they stare into my dark eyes, and for a second I forget that Brandon is a complete and utter jackass.

"Hello, Brandon." I say politely.

"Don't talk to me trash. That's all you are. Trash. Trash like your mother, your father, and everyone else you're related to. You're good for nothing except for taking up space on the streets from people who could maybe do something with their lives." He looks me up and down as he shakes his head in disgust. "Little whore."

There was something about the way he talked to me today that just fills me with rage. Nothing of what he said was true. I don't even know who my mother was. For all, he knows I could be the daughter of a king! The rage that is in me overflows as I watch him walk away.

"Hey, Brandon!" I call after him. He turns around and looks at me disgusting as I walk towards him.

"What do you want as-" he is interrupted by my fist making contact with his face.

* * *

 _Can't write my story_

 _I'm beyond the archetype_

 _I won't just conform_

 _No matter how you shake my core_

 _'Cause my roots, they run deep, oh_

* * *

 **Douglas Waters, 17**

 **District 12 Male**

"27...28...29...30"

I relax after doing my daily thirty pullups. I place my feet back on the ground and smile at myself as I stare at myself in the reflection. My physique is beautiful, especially for someone in District 12. I was very fortunate in my upbringing. My uncle is the mayor of District 12, and though I technically am not wealthy my uncle takes care of his younger brother.

I've always gotten what I've wanted. My dad and his family had to struggle a lot coming up. He made a vow that his kids would never have to experience that. So my uncle and he went into politics. My uncle clearly coming out on top, my dad works as one of the council members. He gets paid well, but my uncle has always helped out with the seriously expensive stuff.

"FATHER!" screams my cousin as he stomps through the house. You can hear where he is in the house because his feet are dragging across the floors on the stairs. I've never really gotten along with my cousin. He has always been one of those spoiled kids that are rude to everyone else because he's rich. I'm spoiled, but I don't down others because they aren't.

"FATHER!" he screams as he slams open the door to my room.

"Why would you dad even be in here, Brandon?" I ask angrily as I run to go throw clothes on.

"Why are you working out in only your underwear he ask confused?"

"I was looking at my body to see if I see a difference," I respond as I chunk my sweaty undershirt at him. He gets mad as he fumbles around trying to get it off his neatly parted hair.

"Have you lost your ever-loving mind?!" he screams at me angrily.

"No," I say. "I'm still curious as to why you're in my room."

"Might I remind you that you're in my house, douchebag!"

I roll my eyes and walk over to my cousin and throw him over my shoulder. He is screaming as I walk him to the outside of my room door and plant him down on the hallway floor. He gets super mad and tries to slap me to get my hands off, but I just close the door and lock it. He attempts to play with the door handle, but when he sees it's locked he begins screaming and yelling.

"You'll regret this! I have to seek revenge on another right now, but you're slowly coming after!"

"Yeah, whatever," I say as I walk to the bathroom connected to my room and turn the shower on. I try not to get too involved with Brandon because the dude is toxic. There is always some person that is grinding his gear, and there is always this one girl he's always complaining about. Honestly, I think he likes her and he isn't quite sure how to handle it. I heard him and his mother talking about her, and she wasn't very impressed with his choice of interest.

I take my clothes off and jump in the shower once the water starts getting warm. Scrubbing the body wash on me I hurry up to get cleaned up before dinner. Dinner has always been a big deal in this family. When I get out of the shower I throw a pair of sweats and a t-shirt on and go down to the dining room. My cousin is sitting with his mother and father surrounding him with an ice pack on his eye. They are fawning over him to see if he is okay. My parents sit at the table and scoff as they see my cousin being so babied. When I walk into the room their faces light up.

"Hello, son!" says my dad with a smile.

"Hello, Dad. Mom." I nod to her as I go and find myself a seat at the table.

"Who did this to you our little sweet prince?!" ask my aunt to my cousin.

"MOTHER IT WAS THAT REPUGNANT GIRL THAT I KEEP TELLING YOU ABOUT!" he screams.

I wince as I grab the bowl of mashed potatoes. His voice is like nails on a chalk board when he screams. My parents seem to be thinking the same thing as they chuckle to themselves at my response.

"Son, how was your day?" my dad ask over the chaos that is taking place on the other side of the table.

"It was good," I respond. "Got a nice work out in an-"

"And he kicked my out of his room!" screams Brandon as he slams his plate up and down on the table. "Tell him not to do that again dad!" he demands. However, before his dad can say anything he stands up and looks around the table. "Family, mark my words," he says super seriously. "Asami Dawn will be in this year's Hunger Games."

* * *

 _If I asked you for good news_

 _Would you smile and turn away?_

 _It's like a bad dream_

 _That is too afraid to wake_

* * *

 **Asami Dawn, 16**

 **District 12 Female**

It's always been so interesting to me to see all the District come together in one big day. Of course, the day itself is nothing to celebrate, but if we could all come together as well as we did on this day, what could we accomplish together?

"Welcome District 12!" says an entirely over enthusiastic escort per usual. They are always so chipper to send kids off to their deaths. She stands abnormally tall and lanky. Her orange hair shines in the sun of our District almost like the fire we use the coal for.

"Let's get this reaping started shall we?" ask the escort. She walks back to the bowl and grabs the envelope that is sitting in the bowl. When she walks back she opens it and then looks out into the audience. "Asami Dawn!" she reads out.

I freeze. I wasn't expecting to get sent into this. I stay on everyone's good side, and never cross people. Before I have really long to actually think about what is going on, Brandon jumps up from his seat and waves at me from the back of the stage. He winks at the audience and back at me. I suddenly realize what is going on.

I walk to the stage not wanting to show fear. I can't show that I'm upset. I can't show the crowd that on the inside I'm falling apart.

"Asami was voted in because…" she looks at the camera crew. "Can I say this word on TV?" she ask confused. They nod no, and she just looks at the camera and smiles. "Let's just say she messed with the wrong person."

She walks to the back of the stage and grabs the boys envelope. She runs back to the front and smiles at the audience. "Let's so who will be joining Miss. Dawn on this wonderful adventure!" she says happily.

When she finishes opening the slip she looks out into the audience and reads, "Douglas Waters!"

The audience gasp, and once again I see Brandon wink and wave to the audience. Douglas, also Brandon's cousin, walks up to the front of the stage stone cold and stoic. He gives his cousin a death glare, and then before the ceremony is dismissed he begins to walk towards the justice building. On the way down he shoves his cousin off the stage.

 **Well, that's the reapings! I can't believe we are already through all of those. You made some awesome characters for this story so it was easy for me to get excited about. I'm eager to hear your favorites?! You've seen all of them now, who do you think is taking the crown?!**

 **After this chapter, things will start getting longer. Instead of the one page POV we have been seeing throughout, we will be doing 2 per POV. (I put both of Douglas' together.) So that's about how long each POV will be.**

 **Thanks for joining me on this story. 214 reviews?! Wow! Train rides next! You'll hear from districts 1-6.**

 **Keep it classy,**

 **Caleb**


	19. Train Rides

_We used to be the life of the party_

 _We used to be the ones that they wished they were_

 _But now it's like they don't know how to act_

 _Maybe they're like me and they want us back_

* * *

 **Jordan Florencia, 17**

 **District 1 Male**

Her name still plays back in my mind as the escort read it over. _Silver Magnum._ I've tried moving on. I've tried getting my life together, I've tried not letting her death get to me. Because it isn't my fault. Surely it can't be my fault.

But it is my fault.

I'm responsible for her death. For the life that she should have had. I can still remember the papers. " _Councilman's daughter dies of a tragic overdose."_ We were just kids. We were just trying to have fun, and do things that normal kids did. She had the entire world at her feet, and she had every opportunity to be something other than what she became. I never understood why she even talked to me.

"You're always so mopey!" says Emerald. She crosses over to the loveseat opposite of where I am and sits down. The train rides are nice, because even if you're from an upper district, like District 1, you still have about a day's worth of train travel. I was looking forward to being by myself and getting to work some stuff out in my head, but I suppose that is out the window now.

She sits opposite of me in a pair of black sweat pants and a pink t-shirt. It's only then that I realize that I haven't changed since the reaping.

"We've been on this train for two hours, and you haven't said a single word." I realize that she hasn't laughed since sitting down for this conversation, and I don't know if that's something that should scare me, or if it's something that should comfort me. She gives me a more assertive look and soothes her face. "Who was she?" she asks me.

"Who was who?" I ask avoiding the question. The truth is I don't know if I want to open up to someone that was voted into the games because people saw her as a psychopath. She never did anything to dissuade the opinion of her either, so she obviously has strong issues.

"Jordan, the girl, or boy, Silver is a bit of a gender neutral name in our District isn't it?" she asks contemplatively. "Anyways, the person, that you were voted in for. What happened?" Her tone is authoritative and at the same time sympathetic. As much as I don't want to tell her, I'm sure it'll get out eventually.

"She's my ex-girlfriend," I say diverting my eyes from hers.

"Did you kill her?" she ask blatantly.

"Of course not!" I respond quickly. "Well, at least not directly.."

She gives me a look to let me know I've caught her attention and urges me to continue with her eyes as she waits for the rest of the story. I can tell that Emerald is not going to stop until I tell her. So I take a deep breath and tell her my biggest secret.

"She wasn't a trainee at the academy like us. She was just a normal girl, from a normal family, with a lot going for her." I start out. "She was beautiful and smart, and everything that was right in the world. For a long time, I didn't know what I did that sparked her interest, but we were happy."

I pause. I don't know if telling this story is going to be as easy as I thought it was.

"And?" ask Emerald.

"I..I got into the party scene with District 1 Academy," I say. "She was totally against it at first, but she stayed with me. After a while, I finally convinced her to go to a party with me. She was very reluctant at first, but after about an hour she loosened up and she got a drink. After that, it went downhill from there. She was taking drugs, and not like the simple stuff that the trainers pretend to overlook when they see it in our systems during physicals, like hard stuff. Like stuff that ruins your life. She became addicted, and I was too high to notice that she needed me."

"Wow," says Emerald surprised. "Out of all of the conclusions I drew in my head, that was not one that I had come up with."

"One night was extremely bad, and she went to a party without me. She took an unusually strong dose of a drug that wrecks you, man, just wipes you out." I look out the window and watch as we are finally leaving out of District 1 and I'm finally away from the place that has ruined me. "They found her body near the lake the next morning."

"I'm sorry that happened," says Emerald genuinely. "You need to move past it, though. You're not at fault for her bad choices," she says. "Sure, you're an enabler, and you sure as hell made awful choices, like monumentally awful choices. Like so bad that-"

"I think I get it," I respond a little more down on myself than normal.

"But the past is the past for a reason. Once you learn that the events that happen in our life are just a journey to get to the good stuff, you won't focus as long on the bad stuff."

"What gives you the qualification to tell me something like that."

She chuckles to herself and stands up from her loveseat. She crosses over to the outskirts of the living compartment and turns back. With a smile bright as day on her face, she remarks "I am a stage four cancer survivor." She then leaves the room and walks down the hall to her train bedroom.

* * *

 _And we'll never be royals_

 _It don't run in our blood_

 _That kind of lux just ain't for us_

 _We crave a different kind of buzz_

* * *

 **Rylan Spain, 17**

 **District 2 Female**

"Like seriously the other tributes have no shot at this anyway," says Saxum from the other side of the table. "They might as well just kill themselves now because there is no way in hell that they'll take me out." He's been going on like this since we got on the train, and I'm about at my last strand of patience for his idiocy.

"Careful not to get too cocky, Male Tribute," says Olympia Rush. She won the 14th Hunger Games. She explained to us early on that even though she knows our names, and even though she helped pick us for the title of tribute, we don't get to be called by our names until we earn the respect of being called by our name.

"I'm just saying, Rush," says Saxum. "I highly doubt me getting killed is even likely because I'm a de-"

"If you say Demigod one more time, I swear I'm going to jam my fork through your eye," I say finally having enough of him. "We get it. You don't feel pain, but do you see how that's potentially a crappy thing for you, more so than a helpful one?" I ask.

He smirks from across the table. "It's just like mere mortals to scoff at the God's when they show their true power. Don't worry Raeanna-"

"It's Rylan," I respond haughtily.

"Whatever," he says. "I won't kill you until the top 6 maybe, so you can have some time to pretend you're a star that actually has a chance."

He infuriates me like no other. I have no idea what the career council sees in him, but I'm beyond annoyed with this frat boy superman. I get up from the table in anger and storm to the back of the cart where Saxum insisted I stay because the front of the car is for people who earned it.

When I get to the door I slam it open, and then turn around and slam it shut. I walk over to the bed and throw myself on it. The truth is, he scares me. I know that he shouldn't, and I could probably stab him in his sleep and he wouldn't even know, but he does. He's confident, and he's the type of career that the other tributes in the alliance will gravitate towards because he's clearly an alpha. I can't deal with something like that. I've worked too hard for this.

There's a knock on my door, but instead of waiting to be invited in, the door opens, and Olympia Rush stands in the doorway. She walks in and closes the door behind her and comes and puts my legs on her lap and sits down on the bed.

"Rylan, you can't let him get to you like that."

I sit up from the other end of the bed and criss-cross my legs. I look at her confused and then get flustered all over again and throw my face in my hands. My shoulder still aches from when Romania punched my in the arm yesterday, and I do my best to hide the wince of pain as I ask my next question.

"How could you pick him? You can't honestly expect him to win." I say. "He's too cocky, he doesn't know how to control his mouth, and he's going to be squished out as soon as the numbers get to our side."

"We know." says Olympia.

I look up from my hands and look at her confused. Did she just say she knows?

"Rylan, we didn't choose Saxum because we see him winning," Olympia says. "The boy has a very good shot if he learns how to control his mouth, but let's be real, he won't do that. We chose Saxum because we know that you're strong, capable, and will figure out a way to use his…"gift" she says with her fingers as quotation marks. "As a tool. We chose Saxum because we believe that you can bring this home. You can't let him get under your skin."

She gets up from the bed and walks back towards the door. She turns to me with a smile and says, "Good night, Rylan." she flicks off the lights and opens my room door and begins to walk out.

"Wait!" I call out before she can leave.

The light from the hallway illuminates her dark skin. Her gentle eyes that have seen so much death and despair shine back at me with nothing but comfort in them. "You called me Rylan," I say.

"I know." she says with a smile as she closes the door and leaves.

* * *

 _If I told you what I was_

 _Would you turn your back on me?_

 _And if I seem dangerous_

 _Would you be scared?_

* * *

 **Vinton Malik, 18**

 **District 3 Male**

There's something about Athena that intrigues me. Not in a creepy way, because she's thirteen years old. She seems like the perfect subject for my experiment that I was working on in District 3 before I was voted in.

Athena would be the perfect doll. She's small enough so that she could still pass as cute, but with a face that looks innocent enough to be young forever. It's just the process of actually getting her to the doll state. That could be extremely tricky in the games.

"So are you just going to stare at me? Or are you going to say something?" ask Athena from the other side of the cart. She's stayed glued to our mentor's side since arriving on the train. She seems scared of me, and the way she talks let me know she wants to come across as brave, but she is not able to.

"I was merely just staring at the doll-like beauty you exhibit, my dear," I say in response. Her eyes widen in fear as she watches my face from afar break into a big smile. Our mentor, Daytona wraps his arm around her and leads her out of the room. She pushes away from him before she exits and walks over to me.

"You don't scare me," she says. "I know who you are, and I know you've done some seriously awful things, but you don't scare me. Not one bit!"

"Is that so?" I ask her with the same smile that has yet to leave my face.

She nods her head in agreement, but I know better. "My dear," I respond, "If you aren't scared, why is there a sweat bead falling down your face?"

Her eyes keep the same amount of determination. She's feisty I'll give her that, and impressively brave against danger. Her chinks in her armor are just too prevalent for me to overlook. She is the perfect candidate, and I won't let someone like that slip through my fingers.

"You're perfect, Athena."

She gives away her emotions on her face in that moment. She is a scared little thirteen year old girl. She's a broken little girl who just got voted into the games because of her parent's misgivings, and now she has to be district partners with the big bad wolf of District 3.

"You're creepy, Professor Creep!" she responds after collecting her facial expressions.

"I'm going to give it to your straight, Athena," I say as I begin to give her my narrative. "In the arena, I will not spare your life simply because you're my district partner. Instead, I will kill you, and I will do so very early. You'll be turned into my personal little doll, and from there, we will get to complete one of my most favorite ideas I've ever had."

"Your doll? What are you a four-year-old girl?" she asks with a quiver in her voice.

"No, but I will tell you that it will be such a fun experience….for me." I let out a laugh that shakes the cart it almost seems. Daytona, who hasn't exactly known how to handle the situation walks up to Athena and again walks her towards the other end of the cart. This time, she leaves the room and heads down to her living cart. I hear Daytona whisper "freak" as he leaves the room.

"Daytona when I win the games, and Athena is my precious little doll, you'll be my next experiment!" I scream at them as they leave the room.

Something in my is different, though. I'm...angry? I've never felt this way before. Athena holds some sort of power over me that no one has ever held before/ Even my dad. I will not let her get away in that arena. Come to the bloodbath, little Athena will be my prisoner.

An avox comes into the room and gives me a look that asks if "I can get you anything". I point my fingers to the kitchen and he moves quickly towards the pantry to begin making me something. I don't know why this tribute has such a hold on me. She's nowhere near as interesting as some of the other kids I've made into my little experiments.

Then again, though, I didn't get to chose those experiments. Athena will be nothing more than a doll I get to choose to be mine. For the first time ever, Vinton Malik is doing something because he wants to do, and not because the Peacekeepers have paid him to do so.

"Yes, Avox," I say. "I will make this games one of the most entertaining yet. You won't be able to believe the amount of pizazz I'm going to bring to it."

He walks back with a bowl of tomato soup and sets it before me. I begin to eat it when the avox starts to leave the room.

"Oh, Avox?" I call.

The young man turns around and looks at me.

"Make sure not to give Athena fatty foods, I need my doll to be perfect," I say as I continue to sip at my soup.

* * *

 _Some mommas and daddies_

 _Are loving in a straight line_

 _Take forever to heart_

 _And take a long sweet ride_

 _But some mommas and daddies_

 _Let their heart strings tear and tangle_

 _And some of us get stuck_

 _In a love triangle_

* * *

 **Sailor Atkinson, 17**

 **District 4 Female**

It's been awkward on the train. I haven't had a lot of time to process what happened yesterday. Once again the infamous title of Shores Atkinson's daughter hangs over me. When I started training it was never to be like my dad, it was to hopefully _see_ him.

To make matters worse he's one of the mentors for this year's games.

"Andrew, your strategy can't just be to say 'fuck you guys I'm the leader this year' when you talk about the other careers," says Coral as Shores sits back and laughs. Andrew has proven to be...well, interesting. He's very sure of his abilities, and he's very sure that he has this in the bag. To be honest, though, if the Hunger Games is 60% physical, it's 40% social and strategy, and Andrew doesn't have the strength to rely purely on physicality in the games.

"Why not? I can't help it I'm the best one suited for this job. You saw my competition last night. I'm the only one in here that stands a chance in these games!" he says giving me a side glance and an arrogant scoff.

"I don't know," says Shores, "Sailor has a lot of skills."

It was my turn to scoff now. Rolling my eyes I turn to the window and watch as we are traveling through what I think is District 1.

"Is there a problem, Sailor?" ask Shores as she gives me a confused look.

Instead of answering I get up and leave the living compartment and head back to my bedroom on the train. When I close the door an announcement comes over the train loudspeaker system letting us know that we will arrive at the Capitol in less than 30 minutes. As I begin to put the clothes that I want to keep from the train ride in a bag, my bedroom door slides open and Shores walks in.

"Most people knock," I tell him.

"Fathers don't have to." he responds.

"In that case, you still need to knock."

The whole time I haven't looked at him. I know I'm coming across harsh, but since our incident in the Academy, I haven't had time to calm down. He's been there every step of the way since then. The ironic part is this is the most I've ever seen Shores in the ten years since he left me and my mom.

"There's so much to the situation that you don't know-"

"Don't you dare start with a speech like that. We both know the only reason that you're even looking in my direction is because of the games. What is it, Shores? Guilt? Nerves? Is this the point where you say you've always wanted to know me? Where you've always wanted to be there for me? Where you pin everything on my mother? The woman who raised me when you crapped out?" I ask him defensively and zipping the bag up. I sling it over my shoulder, and without even looking at him I leave the room.

"Sailor this isn't fair to both of us." he says following me.

Andrew is in the living room still talking with Coral about appropriate ways to be social in the games. Andrew looks at both me and Shores when we walk into the room and scoffs. "Trouble in daddy and daughter land?"

"Shut up." we both say together.

We turn to look at each other, but I refuse to look at him for very long. "You said that this isn't fair to both of us?" I say. "You chose to walk out. You chose to be the one that wasn't there for me. You chose to be the guy that walked out on his kid." Tears start to well up in my eyes as I still can't look him in the face. "No little girl ask to be the girl that doesn't have a dad. I didn't need your money growing up. I needed your support. I needed you to be at the daddy daughter days at school. And now in my potentially last few days on earth, I can't think of anyone that I'd rather _not_ be with. So tell me who is it unfair for again?"

He opens up his mouth to talk, and then closes his mouth. He looks off onto the other side of the cart and then opens his mouth again to talk, but I cut him off.

"Please don't say anything that you haven't said for the past ten years because of the circumstances we are in now. I don't need your pity regret."

The train pulls to a stop and loads of paparazzi are flashing their cameras ready to catch the latest tributes from District 4 who will most likely die in the games. I still haven't wrapped my head around the fact that 23 of us walking into this building will cease to exist in less than 3 weeks.

Before I start moving towards the door I look at everyone on the train.

"Coral, if it's alright by you, I'd like you to train me for the remainder of the games."

She nods, and I walk off the platform, smiling, and giving the cameras what they want. My district wanted to see a Victor's daughter in the games. I might as well give them two.

* * *

 _We're only taking turns_

 _Holding this world_

 _It's how it's always been_

 _When you're older, you will understand_

* * *

 **Pine Heart, 17**

 **District 5 Male**

"You lied to me," I tell Curie as we exit the train and walk towards the training building. We haven't said a word to each other since being on the train. She has smiled and tried to be friendly with me, but this time I see through it.

The truth is I trust to easy, and because of that, it makes it hard for me to not have my feelings hurt when someone does something to break that trust. She didn't just break the trust, though, she got me in this mess. I would never do what my family did if I hadn't thought I'd be orphaned if I didn't help them. Whoever this Popper kid is, but needs to really give it a break.

"I know." she says calmly. "I'm sorry."

We walk down the long and narrow pathway to an elevator. When we get on I'm amazed at how much the lavish lifestyle in the Capitol is. The elevator is pure silver steel, and it's one of the shiniest things I've ever seen. I had far from a poor life in District 5, but I have never seen anything so beautifully lavish in my life.

Our escort didn't make the elevator with us, so Curie and I stand awkwardly in the unit as it rises to the 5th floor. After a few seconds I look over to her and I just feel rage.

"Sorry isn't good enough." I say harshly.

She looks taken aback as she turns to me. The elevator dings and she hurries off the elevator and attempts to walk towards the rooms, but I run in front of her and cut it off.

"You've single-handedly signed my death warrant," I say. "You're the reason that I'm not ever going to see my family again. That my family will rot in prison for the rest of their lives, and that's if they don't get executed."

"Your family brought it on themselves, Pine," she says snapping back. "You were invading into Popper's territory, and he doesn't take too kindly to it. Next time, maybe you should think about the consequences of your actions before you try to step up to the plate."

I slam my fist into the wall and she jumps back out of shock. I continue to punch the wall over and over again, and a hole begins to form. Suddenly I'm unable to stand anymore and I fall down to my knees. As tears start to fall from my face Curie leans down and gives me a very awkward hug. She's trying to be nice, but you can tell she's just as uncomfortable with this situation as I am.

"This just isn't fair," I say as I take breaths in between my sobs. "I've done nothing other than being there for my family, and now I'm being punished for it. I would never have-"

"Pine, you don't have to explain yourself to me," says Curie with a weak smile.

We sit there for a long time, just sitting in an awkward embrace. There is something about having someone that wants to be there for you when you know your entire world has been turned around and you have nothing going for you.

"We can make this work," she says. "I know you probably don't trust me, and that I'm the last person that you want. You need someone streetsmart. You need someone like me. I need someone to keep me grounded."

That's the thing, though. If I'm being honest, I do trust her. She's smart, and there is a huge chance that she is playing me. But I trust her, and until she proves otherwise she's the only alliance I have.

"Uh, am I interrupting something?" our escort ask as she walks onto the floor. Curie and I were so caught up in this little moment, we hadn't noticed her walk onto the floor. She is accompanied by an avox who is holding our luggage on a cart.

"Just needed to let some stuff out," says Curie as she sticks her hand out to help me up. I clear my throat, while I wipe my eyes and try to make my face look like I haven't been sobbing for 10 minutes.

"You kids are so weird." says the escort as she beckons for the avox to follow her to her room to drop off her stuff.

"We got this." says Curie with a weak smile.

"Yeah, we do." I say

* * *

 _'Cause it makes me that much stronger_

 _Makes me work a little bit harder_

 _It makes me that much wiser_

 _So thanks for making me a fighter_

* * *

 **Rowena Birch, 18**

 **District 6 Female**

I'm taken aback by how much these people have in the Capitol. They have piles of piles of garbage sitting out in front of their houses. How in the world do you have enough room in your stomach to eat that much? Or even enough room in your house to waste that much?

It's shocking seeing how everyone here is also so interested in us. Yesterday I was just another girl that was working the lumber yard in district 6, but today I'm kind of a celebrity.

"You two must be so flattered your district chose you because you had the best shot." says our escort encouragingly.

"Oh yeah," I respond sarcastically. "I'm so grateful that the people I see on a day to day basis put me in a situation that almost guarantees my death."

"Almost is the key word, dear." says the escort. "You can't be mad at them for seeing something in you."

"I can be mad at whomever I want," I say as I turn my face towards the TV screen in the hotel room they have for us at the training center.

"You hold a lot in," says Troy. "Don't you?"

I scoff to myself and almost laugh as he begins questioning me. That's how the whole train ride has been. Me reacting and him assuming that he knows me. We never met before this experience, we probably never would have if we didn't. I see no point in talking to him now that I am going to die in a few short days.

"Are you trying to get me to open up to you because we are going to die soon?" I ask "Let me guess. You're a little boy that is scared, and you didn't want this. It was just thrust upon you. You've always had big dreams for yourself and now everything is ruined because the big bad District 6 messed it all up for you."

"That isn't nice." he says.

"Oh please," I say. "You've done the same thing to me the whole time we've been moving here. You know what they say about assuming. They make an ass of you and me."

I divert my eyes back to the TV and wait for his response. He is quiet, but he just continues to look at me. Finally, after a minute he takes a deep breath and says, "You're a piece of home."

"Excuse me?" I ask.

"You're someone familiar. Even if I didn't know you before. I know you've walked the same streets as me. I know if I say the old flasher on 9th street you know who I'm talking about. If I say the world Bingle Dr. you know it's the mayor's street. You don't know me, but we know our home."

I chuckle at the thought of the old man that walks around flashing people on 9th street. He is a very weird man, but he is an icon of our district.

"The first time I saw the old man flasher, I was 11. He didn't flash me, but he did it to a lady in front of me. I remember her kid screaming so loud that he was naked. The Peacekeepers that were there just laughed at the situation because the woman was so hysterical."

He smiles as I tell him the story. I don't think I like Troy, but I know that he's scared. Even though I don't want to talk to him, if he needs me I'll be there for him. It is nice to have someone that I can say a District inside joke to every now and then.

"Would you be totally against it if we made an alliance?" he ask me.

"I think that I would be okay," I say. "Don't expect me to be mushy. I'm still unsure of how I think of you, but for the time being, I'll help you as much as I can."

"I appreciate it." he says.

"So who do you think our biggest competition is?" he asks me.

"I was actually thinking about that," I say. "The girl from 9 is sticking out to me a lot. There's something about her I just can't put my finger on." I say.

"I was actually thinking about the pair from 10," he responds. "There is something about that girl that seems...mighty? Does that make sense? I can't explain it, but she seems to have something...different about her."

"Well, then I guess we will see tomorrow. It's the first day of training after all." I say as I turn the TV on and see the arrival of the tributes being covered on every major news station in the Capitol.

 **Well, those are our train rides! Instead of me doing a whole other chapter of trains, I'm going to do the training days next with an emphasis on Districts 7-12.**

 **Which POV did you like the best?**

 **Any person you like a lot?**

 **I'm putting a poll on my page! Go and vote :D You might not be old enough to vote in this election, but you're old enough to vote on FF so you should take ahold of your civil liberty!**

 **Keep it classy,**

 **Caleb**


	20. Training Day 1

**Trigger Warning: Cyrus is in this chapter. He plays a significant part in not only cannon but the story. If sensitive don't read the middle paragraphs until you see a name other than him and Angelica. I'll explain and summarize in the A/N on the bottom.**

* * *

 _You wanna know_

 _More more more about me?_

 _I'm the girl that's kicking the coke machine_

* * *

 **Eve Sumac, 17**

 **District 7 Female**

I have absolutely no time for people who demand things of me. I've lived the last three years of my life being told what to do, being told when I can shower, or use the bathroom. In the last days of my life, I refuse to be anything but free.

"Eve, get up and come eat!" demands my escort from outside my room door. She came in about thirty minutes ago and didn't close the door on her way out. So I got up out of bed and then locked the door.

"I don't need to be at training for another two hours. I'm sleeping until then. Leave me be." I say to her.

She continues to knock on the door over and over. Finally, after about five minutes of her knocking, I get up from my bed and go to the door. When I open it, my escort is in her sleep mask and robe still. Aspen sits at the breakfast table playing with a bowl of oatmeal. I look at the escort that is standing in my doorway and I have a list of very defiant things that I would like to bring to her attention.

"Listen, Facemask," I begin, "Do you know why I was in prison in District 7?"

She nods her head, clearly still stuck in the moment that I called her facemask. If I'm being quite honest I haven't bothered to learn her name...she's been consistently annoying.

"I murdered a guy." her jaw drops when she hears this. "Yeah, that's right, Lizard Face. I killed the life right out of him. Want to know what he did? Pissed me off. Now let me sleep or I might get a little angry again." I say. I look at the table to Aspen and point my finger at him. "You," I say. "In here."

"I'm eating my oatmeal?" he says confused.

I roll my eyes and sigh heavily. "Fine, bring it with you."

He reluctantly gets up with his bowl and spoon in hand and makes his way to my bedroom. When he gets close enough I grab onto his shirt and slam the door in our escorts face.

"Rude." I hear her whisper as she waddles away from the room.

"Look, I have literally no time to waste while I'm here. I want to sleep without having to get up two hours earlier than planned. So if you want to do that, by all means, go for it. Don't set the bar so high I have to follow." I say angrily as he is staring at me while putting a spoonful of oatmeal in his mouth. "Are you even listening to me?!" I ask

"Yes," he says. "And you sound annoying."

"Excuse me?!"

"Some people have actual problems, Eve. All of yours were something you self-caused. So the fact that you've been marching around and being sassy and rude all the time is really annoying."

"You don't know ANYTHING about me," I say.

"I know you were in prison." he says.

"For killing my sister's rapist!" I say back.

The room settles in an uncomfortable silence. We can hear our escort as she moves around the kitchen and is filling up her coffee mug as we just stand there and stare at each other. Finally wanting to break the silence, Aspen speaks up.

"I'm sorry," he says "I didn't know."

"Yeah, they don't exactly make it public when one of their own does wrong," I say.

You can tell that he's reaching for words and trying to figure out where to go next, but it's helpless at this point. This is one of those awkward moments that we just need to let die and move on from there.

"Now, get out of my room and make sure she stays away at least for another hour and a half," I say as I open the door and allow him to go through it. He nods and walks back to the table, and I close the door.

Turning back to my big empty room I turn out the light and walk back over to the big comfy bed that I haven't had the luxury to sleep on in a long time. I pull back the covers and slide in between them as I close my eyes and drift slowly back to sleep.

* * *

 _See the line where the light meets the sea?_

 _It calls me_

 _And no one knows, how far it goes_

 _If the wind in the sail on the sea stays behind me_

 _One day I'll know if I go there's just no telling how far I'll go_

* * *

 **Savannah Sage, 15**

 **District 10 Female**

"You nervous?" ask Zebedee as we board the elevator from our suite on the tenth floor.

To be honest I haven't really thought about it. I'd always wanted to get out of District 10. Explore other places, and really just grab an understanding for all of God's creation. There is so much out there, and so much that I've never seen...it doesn't make sense for me not to be in awe of everything that Capitol has.

And they have so much.

Buildings that look like they touch the heavens themselves. They have trees that change colors depending on the person's mood when they walk by. I've been so enamored that I almost forgot that I'm going into a deathmatch in only a matter of days.

"I mean, I'm not _not_ nervous now that you bring it up," I reply as I press the base floor button.

"Sorry," he replies. "I'm not trying to scare you. I'm just nervous myself. Are we sticking together? Are we separating? Are-"

"Woah, dude," I say touching his arm gently. "You're thinking too much. Just sit back today and observe what everyone is doing. Okay?"

He nods in agreement as the elevator doors open and we see the main lobby of the training building. We are the last group to get there and everyone is looking at us as we enter the room.

"Now that everyone is here," says the main trainer, "we can begin with the rules." he goes on and on about all these different things that we aren't allowed to do, but I'm distracted. In a room where we are supposed to learn how to stay alive, there sure is a lot of death.

Everywhere I turn I see a new weapon that I've never even dreamed of existing. Everywhere I go I get visions of the different ways I can die, and to be honest...it's terrifying. I can only imagine the careers that have trained their whole lives for something like this once they get their hands on these in the arena.

I snap back into reality and see everyone starting to spread out. The careers are by themselves in the corner having a conversation while the rest of the groups are walking around trying to look busy. The District 9 girl catches my eye, though, something about her is not sitting well with me to familiar with everything in this room. Like she's finally seeing an old friend for the first time in a long time.

Zebedee went straight to the survival station, and not wanting to look like a deer in the headlights I followed his lead. When I got over there he was working on trying to make fire without flint.

"Remember that in the arena flint is not a guarantee. You could easily freeze, and that's a fate worse than dying at the hands of the other tributes."

Zebedee is pretty skilled when it comes to this kind of stuff. Me growing up in the city part of District 10 I never really had to work hard like him. He grew up farming and plowing. He was politically trained as well. If I had to pick the outer district tribute with the best chance, I think I'd have to say, Zebedee.

"Why don't you try, Savannah?" he asks after five minutes he finally got a fire going.

I nod and sit down taking the flint and rock out of his hands. I casually hit the rock to the flint but he shakes his head and bends down to help me. "You have to strike hard and fast. You're going to slow." he demonstrates and after I follow suit. I get a fire going pretty quick, and we decide to go and try a different activity.

"No. This is something you need to fix immediately!" says a voice that is behind the corner. Zebedee and I look at each other confused and I walk forward to see what's going on. As I round the corner I see the girl from District 9 screaming into her watch.

"Summers, I don't have time for these games. This isn't funny anymore! Get me out of here and get the real girl that was reaped in here immediately!"

"Are you...talking into a watch?" I ask

She jumps at the sound of my voice and then shoves something in her pocket quickly. She stalks towards me and rams her shoulder into mine.

"Watch you back, 10."

"My name is Savannah," I say calmly.

"Again," she says, "Watch you back, 10."

She storms towards the other end of the training room, and I decide to have a little fun with her because I don't like her attitude.

"Tell Summers hi for me next time!"

She pauses as she picks up a sword. She turns and looks at me, and then turns back to the dummy and swiftly decapitates it. I take a sharp gulp as I just realized I've made a very strong enemy.

* * *

 _I have often dreamed,_

 _Of a far off place._

 _Where a hero's welcome will be waiting for me._

 _Where the crowds will cheer when they see my face,_

 _And a voice keeps saying, this is where I'm meant to be._

* * *

 **Douglas Waters, 17**

 **District 12 Male**

In the face of death, it makes you a tad more contemplative. Looking at the other tributes and their strengths and weaknesses are interesting. Not one of them has something that makes them stick out exceptionally well, and even the careers don't seem as well rounded weapon wise as they normally do, but it could very well be a facade hiding their actual abilities.

"Watch your back, 10." says the girl from District 9 as she walks away from the two tributes from 10. I'm not quite sure what happened, but the girl from 10 is one of the most harmless people in here.

"Tell Summers I say hi next time!" shouts the girl from District 10.

The girl from 9 then picks up a sword and promptly decapitates a dummy. Now where would an outer tribute get skills like that? Something isn't adding up here. I take a seat on the bench and observe the District 9 girl as she goes through various weapons. She's an expert at none of them, but she's still evenly skilled with the careers.

"Interesting, isn't it?" ask the girl from 10 as her and the boy from 10 sit down.

"Very," I reply. "She's hiding something."

"Oh, she totally is." says the boy from 10. "Savannah and I just rounded the corner to her screaming into a watch, but like someone is actually talking to her. Where the hell do you get one of those things in here?" he asks me confused. "Why does she get the opportunity to potentially talk to her family?"

"Douglas," I say extending my hand to the pair. They both smile politely and shake my hand as they introduce themselves.

"My name is Savannah." says the girl.

"Zebedee." says the boy.

"Cool name," I say giving him a nod of approval.

He smiles and diverts his attention back to the girl from 9 as she is now spears throwing. The careers have seemed to take notice of the girl as well because they are paused in their area they are currently showing off at and watching her in awestruck.

"It's going to be hard for an outer district to win this year," I say as I glance at the other two.

"Oh!" says Savannah excitedly. "Is this an alliance proposal?! I'm so excited I thought I wouldn't get picked! Thank you Jesus!"

I actually hadn't thought about offering them an alliance. It just seemed like a common thought due to the brute strength I'm seeing from the careers and the brute strength from the girl from 9 who is clearly not from District 9. Or if she is there is a very big chance she was into some illegal things.

"I mean it initially wasn't, but if you're down then I suppose I could get behind it," I respond with a chuckle.

She smiles and shakes her head triumphantly and sticks her hand out. It takes me a minute to realize that she's wanting me and Zebedee to stick our hands on top, but we do so after about a thirty-second awkward pause.

"Operation has an outer win the games is a go then." says Savannah smiling.

Zebedee and I both nod in agreement as we pull our hands back. The careers have approached the District 9 girl and seem to be offering a deal to her. Savannah and Zebedee seem to share the same thoughts because they frown upon seeing that.

"Now there's seven of them…" says Zebedee as he watches her shake their hand with a smile.

"Yes, I say. Now there is seven of them."

Savannah begins looking around the room and observing the other tributes and then furrows her brow as she does a sweep with her eyes again.

"That's funny," she says. "The boy from 9 isn't here again. He wasn't here that last time I counted either, but I assumed he was just in the bathroom. It was over an hour ago." she says as she looks at me and Zebedee nervously.

"I'm sure he's just in the bathroom again," says Zebedee as he gets up to go and look for himself. We watch as he enters the bathroom on the other side of the building, and we watch as he reemerges with a worried look on his face. He walks back over to us and frowns as he sits down.

"He's not there." he says.

"We should tell someone," says Savannah. "He didn't seem like he was alright in the head."

* * *

 _I'm not coming back._

 _I've done something so terrible_

 _I'm terrified to speak but you'd expect that from me._

* * *

 **Cyrus Turner, 17**

 **District 9 Male**

The elevator dings and I walk onto it through the stained silver doors. The numbers 1-12 line the wall of the elevator, but I'm not looking for a number to go to. I'm looking for something higher. I like the button with the letter "R" on it and watch as the doors close and the numbers begin to climb.

You see there just isn't a purpose anymore. Something about this life has been unfair to me. From the place I've ended up, to where I was born. Somewhere out there is someone who enjoys playing with me.

The games were nothing more than a catalyst for which something inevitable was coming. The purpose of me entering this games was never for me to win as much as it was to help someone else lose a number quickly. Destined to be a forgotten face that shoots up from an inner tube.

As the elevator stops moving and the doors open up revealing the roof of the academy, for the first time in a long time, an overwhelming sense of peace fills me. I can't explain it, but there's something about knowing that this is all about to be over. Something about knowing the struggles that I've faced, knowing that they are something that I can go face to face with and go out my own way. I just feel...right.

I'm choosing this for myself rather than someone else doing it in a matter of a few days.

* * *

 _Help._

 _I need somebody._

 _Help._

 _Not just anybody._

* * *

 **Angelica Winters, 18**

 **District 8 Female**

"The boy from district 9 isn't here." I hear the girl from District 10 telling one of the trainers. They've had a habit of just sitting on the wall and not even really making sure we're doing what we are supposed to. "He was the one with the suicidal problems if you'd remember from his reapings. I'm sure the Capitol would have a field day if they found out you let one of their tributes die on your watch," she says

The trainer rolls his eyes. He stops leaning against the wall and pulls a walkie-talkie off his hip and presses the button.

"Front Desk this is Rodney," he says. "District 9 isn't in the training room anymore. Can you make sure that he is in his room?"

I can't explain it, and it's not something I really understand, but I know he isn't going to be in his room. Of course telling them that will chalk it up to alcohol withdrawal, but to be honest I haven't really been laying off the stuff since being here.

I look over to Miles and give him a worried face. He's still a little upset with me over the whole, "I'm the reason he got reaped thing", but Miles isn't the most socially graceful person. So he's stuck with me for the majority of the day.

"What's wrong?" he asks me confused.

"I think he's heading to the roof, or somewhere else easy to hurt himself," I say

"You go to the roof, I'll go check out the other bathrooms in the building," says Miles as he gets up and starts a steady walk to the hallway. I quickly follow suit and rush to the elevator. As I press the button a sinking feeling comes over my stomach, and as the doors open and I step onto the elevator it only intensifies.

"Please don't let it be too late," I whisper to myself as the elevator moves up the floors ever so slowly.

* * *

 _Forgive me I'm trying to find,_

 _My calling, I'm calling at night._

* * *

 **Cyrus Turner, 17**

 **District 9 Male**

The roof is lined with multiple garden furniture from patio couches to lawn chairs. Such an extravagant set up for someplace that probably never gets used. The Capitol is wasteful. It lets the people of the District's waste away while they live in luxury. Sitting on this couch and looking at the edge of the roof I smile. I'm almost finished.

I get up from the couch and walk over to the edge of the roof. I stand up on it and look down at the ground that is separated by a mere thirteen floors.

"Well, Cyrus," I say to myself. "You are about to be at peace."

I take a deep breath and the elevator dings to reveal the girl from District 8 looking in a panicked state. When she sees me standing on the edge of the roof her eyes bulge out of her head and she runs to the edge of where I am. She's careful not to get too close to me.

"Don't do this." she says.

"What do you care, 8?" I ask accusingly. "It's one number for you to not have to deal with."

Tears well up in her eyes as she looks at me. There's a look of wisdom and a look of understanding on her face as I can tell she's trying to figure out what to say next. She then does something that completely surprises me. Hopping up on the ledge she sits down with her feet facing the roof floor. She pats the side of the edge, and I cautiously sit down with my feet facing the outside of the roof.

"I know I can't stop you," she says. "I can say anything that I want to say, I can even physically remove you from this roof, but you'll just find another way. This is a choice you have to make for yourself, 9." tears flow down her face. "I don't know your situation. I don't know your story or your background, or even what your motivations for this are. I do know what it's like to want to die. I know what it's like to feel that it's not worth going on anymore."

"I'm not meant to win these games," I say in response.

"Maybe not, but you can go down fighting," she says.

"I'm choosing this because I want to go out on my terms."

"Cyrus please list-"

Before she can finish I push her towards the inside of the roof and slide off the edge. She screams, and she is surprisingly quick as she leans over the edge and grabs my hand.

* * *

 _Sing to me the song of the stars_

 _Of your galaxies dancing_

 _And laughing and laughing again_

 _When it seems like my dreams are so small._

 _Sing to me of the plans, that you have for me over again._

* * *

 **Angelica Winters, 18**

 **District 8 Female**

I grasp onto Cyrus' hand as he is hanging over the edge. There are two problems with this, though. The competitor inside of me is screaming to let go. If he falls then there is one less person in this games for me to have to compete against. The humanity inside of me is screaming to help him. Cyrus very well may be doomed, but I can't allow him to do this. This is so...finalizing.

"Angelica, just let go. It's okay." says 9 as he's doing nothing to help me and is just dangling off the roof. The problem is his hand is rapidly slipping, and I'm a tiny 18-year-old girl. A crowd is forming on the bottom of the building looking up if he doesn't survive I'm sure to get in trouble for this, or at the very least questioned.

The elevator dings and I hear Miles voice with a few Peacekeepers as he runs up to the ledge. He grabs onto my hand and we slowly begin to pull 9 up, who still isn't helping at all. When we finally get him over the ledge I fall down in exhaustion and collapse on the floor. The Peacekeepers swarm me asking me all sorts of questions about what was happening and why we were up here.

"9 came up here to kill himself," I say in between my heavy breaths. "I heard the girl from District 10 talking about him being suicidal and missing, and I just kind of knew he'd be here."

"How did you know that he'd be on the roof?"

"Because when I wanted to die, I had fantasies about a roof as well."

There is an awkward silence and pause as they are writing down my statement. I close my eyes and begin to breathe deeply. I still haven't been able to catch my breath, not to mention all the adrenaline that is now wearing off from me seeing him dangle there.

"CYRUS NO!" screams a Peacekeeper.

My eyes fly open to see Miles and a few Peacekeepers looking over the edge. Before I can get up to confirm what was happening I notice two things. The first, District 9, who I guess who's name is Cyrus, is not there. The second, the loud crack that happened only a few seconds later.

Peacekeepers begin to scramble and are all frantically talking on their walkie-talkie. I go and look over the edge only to see the boy that I just saved lying on the ground below. I'm suddenly very dizzy as I feel the world spinning around me. Everything is going fuzzy as I begin to tremble, and Miles grabs onto me as I begin to fall.

"Angelica!" he screams. "Angelica are you okay?!"

* * *

 _I bust the windows out your car_

 _No, it didn't mend my broken heart_

 _I'll probably always have these ugly scars_

 _Right now I don't care about that part_

* * *

 **Rocko Warner, 16**

 **District 11 Male**

I hate the careers. They're literally the worst of the worst of any group of people. Someone who goes and trains to kill people is just...just...unjustifiable!

"Can someone tell me why I'm wasting my time just sitting here?" ask the boy from four as he pouts in one of the theater chairs where we were allowed to watch old games. "I have things to train, people to intimidate, groups to lead."

"You're so not our leader." says the girl from 2 with a laugh.

"I second this motion." says the girl from 1.

"No one asked you two to speak!" screams the boy from 4 in response. I like him. He's my kind of person.

The trainers enter the room before a real fight can break out for the careers and it's a bummer. I really wanted to see some heads rolling. Rotten, stupid, ugly careers.

The trainers take their place at the front of the stage and have a very solemn look on their faces. You can tell that they are all dreading what's coming, but they aren't quite sure how to handle this situation. Are we experiencing Hunger Games history right now?

I look around the room and notice that the boy from District 9 and the two from 8 are not in the room. Why do they get to experience not hearing whatever this is? It's not fair.

"Hello, tributes." says the head trainer softly. "Today is a day of great sadness." he begins.

We all look at each other confused at this point. I notice the career girls looking around and counting everyone. The trainer still hasn't said anything so the girl from 4 raises her hand.

"Why is there only twenty-one of us in this room? Where is the other three?"

The trainer bows his head in what I thought was sadness, but I have quickly realized looks more like shame. He looks up at us with a look that lets me know I'm correct and begins to explain why we were called into this room.

"Today, Cyrus Turner, the boy from District 9 has taken his own life."

Everyone in the room gasp, well except me. I don't see why we are making such a big deal out of this. The kid was going to die in a few days anyways due to the games. So what if he knocked himself out early.

"Why is this a bad thing?" I ask confused.

"Are you serious?" ask the girl from District 1. "Life is a precious thing, and the fact that he just took his own is so sad!" she says angrily.

"Yeah, if life was so precious why are you in the games?" I snap back. "You don't have a high regard for it."

"I think you don't know anything about me." says the girl as she stands up. "We weren't allowed to volunteer, and I never wanted to end up here. You're from District 11 and have no idea what it's like in District 1. So stop popping off and shut up."

"You've been marked." says the girl from 2 as she turns his head slightly to me. "Emerald take a seat and let the men finish please."

The girl from District 1 sits down and the trainers look at us with the same stupid look of shame they've had on this whole time.

"Because Cyrus has taken his life there was a new tribute selected from District 9." says the trainer. "This tribute received the second highest number of votes and is almost here at the Capitol. He should arrive by the morning."

Everyone looks at themselves. We aren't sure what to expect at this point. We've all seen what we're made of, and the different skills we are capable of doing. This guy is coming in with a HUGE advantage of being able to hide all his skills.

"With that being said," says the trainer. "With the suicide of Cyrus, we have divided the training times by three districts each. You will not be allowed to leave the room until your time is up. If you're not in training you'll be confined to the suites that you're assigned to. To go to another tributes suite you must ask for an escort to get you there." says the trainer.

"Go to sleep tributes."

 **25th Place: Cyrus Turner, Suicide- Okay, so I killed someone before the games, but let me explain. One, I DID talk to the creator of Cyrus before I killed him off, and she completely agreed to the story projection that I foresaw with his death. So thank you LadyCoredeliaStewart for being such a good sport about this. Cyrus was one of those tributes that I knew was going to die in the bloodbath, and I felt like I could use that spot for something. So yes, I am creating a tribute, but it's ONLY to propel another story arc that I thought would be really good. My tribute will NOT win. I also thought it would be cool to explain why they put the field up around the training center roof. Something had to happen for it to be that way right?**

 **Alliances**

 **The careers: Emerald/Jordan/Rylan/Saxum/Sailor/Andrew/Kara (Gretchen)**

 **The Outers: Savannah/Zebedee/Douglas**

 **The Unofficial: Angelica/Miles**

 **The loners (So far)- Athena/Vinton/Pine/Curie/Rowena/Troy/Eve/Aspen/Unknown D9 Boy/Fir/Rocko/Asami *this is not one big alliance, this is the tributes yet to be assigned to one.***

 **Also, I'm a complete idiot and forgot to make the poll visible on my profile. It's now able to be voted, but I see that seven of you already have. Sorry about the confusion.**

 **So let me know what you think. Let me know if you hate me.**

 **Keep it classy,**

 **Caleb**


	21. Training Day 2 & Private Sessions

_Let hope arise_

 _Darkness trembles in eternal light_

* * *

 **Athena Mistynl, 13**

 **District 3 Female**

In the midst of tragedy, it's normal for the human species to bond together. Something about the realization that we're human, along with the fact we aren't indestructible, is humbling. In this game, though, if you can call it that, there really isn't any room for bonding. At the same point, there really isn't any room to _not_ bond.

Without an alliance, you sit here and you basically wait to get picked off. Not to mention the fact that I am having to deal with my creep of a district partner who is constantly commenting on how he wants to kill me. This game just keeps getting better and better.

They tried to divide us the best they possibly could. They told us that we would go in four groups of three, and they told us that we won't be going with Districts 1 or 2.

"We want you guys to at least have a chance at an alliance," the trainers said this morning when we came down for the first slot. So now, here I am, sitting with Professor Creep, and the tributes from 5 and 6.

None of us are really moving towards any of the stations. Instead, the tributes from 5 and 6 have been conversing for the past 2 hours. The girl from 5 is constantly darting around the room using her eyes, and the boy from 5 just stares down towards the ground. The two from 6 I'm not quite sure what to make of. They're very resistant to any amount of conversations that I try and present, I guess no one wants to take part of the brainy crowd.

"Tributes, you now have 30 minutes left." a voice comes over the loudspeaker.

"Well, I'm going to use the bathroom," says Vinton to me. Ironically that's one of the less creepy things he's said. "Try not to miss me too much my little doll," he says as he walks away.

I shudder as he gets up and walks away, and instantly the other tributes swarm me. The girl from 5 is the first to make a move and embraces me in a hug, and I have no clue what to do, so I just let the hug take place.

"Oh my gosh," she says. "We've all been listening to his creepy comments all day!" says the girl from 5. "Are you okay? Like do you need me to kill him now?! Cause we can make this happen." she says as she continues to hug me.

"I-I'm okay," I respond still a little confused. Up until just recently, they've done a very good job at ignoring me.

"You remind me a lot of my little sister." says the girl from 6. "My name is Rowena,"

"I'm Athena," I say.

One by one they go down the lines introducing themselves. Curie, the girl from District 5, is by far my favorite. There is something about her that just draws me in, I can't quite explain it. Pine, the boy from 5, is very...broken. You can tell that he's a nice guy. Maybe even was warm at one point, but there is a lot of brokenness from these games. Troy, the boy from 6, is very...well, how do I put this nicely, he's just kind of there. He looks strong enough, and he's smart from the little bits I have heard him say, but he's nothing I'm particularly looking out for in the games.

"Look, we formed an alliance within the first like, 20 minutes of being in here," says Curie very matter of factly. "We want you in it, but we don't want Creepzilla in the know about it. Which is why we've been pretty distant towards you," she adds.

I'm still in a load of shock as I look at the group that just approached me. I thought I was a sitting duck in these games, but suddenly I'm given a chance, and that's something I wasn't expecting, that's something that gives me more hope than I thought I could have given the situation.

"Yeah," I say. "I'm in,"

She smiles as she looks at the others in the group.

"I think with the number of people that the careers have this year, it will be difficult for an outer district to have a fighting chance. Any of those guys could win, and I think the Capitol would prefer the win." says Rowena, "But we can do this." she says smiling.

"Tomorrow is the private sessions, and we don't want anyone to know about the alliance until we are in the arena," says Pine as he perks up for a minute. I think the idea of having a decent sized alliance is getting him in better spirits. "Which means you have to keep Creepy-deek off our scent," he adds.

I nod. "Easy enough, he only talks about how much he wants to kill me," I say.

"I've never once wanted to smash an axe into someone's skull," says Rowena angrily. "Seeing him talk to you like that gives me the strongest urge I think humanly possible," she says.

"You better hurry back before he comes from the bathroom. We'll be in touch soon to talk more," says Curie as she and the others walk away.

I sit back down on the bench that they swarmed me at, and wait for Vinton to return. I try and hide the excitement that I'm feeling on the inside, but I have never been a very good liar. When Vinton returns, however, I don't even have to try and hide happiness. It just evaporates.

"Did you miss me?" he ask excitedly.

"Do pigs bark?" I ask him.

"No." he responds.

"That's my answer as well," I respond as I turn and watch as my alliance is planning things over by the sword section.

* * *

 _If I were you, I'd want to be me too._

 _Want-want-want to be me too._

 _I'd want to be me too._

* * *

 **Saxum Flavus, 18**

 **District 2 Male**

"Thank you all for coming to my meeting." says the boy from District 4 as he sits on a lawn chair in on the roof. "I've brought us here today because there needs to be some immense strategy for what's about to go down in the arena, and me being the only smart one in the group, I figured that I should lead the charge."

I don't know who this boy thinks he is, but he's clearly not in the know that he is in the presence of a God.

"Now, that we all decided that I'm the group's leader-"

"Woah, we did not say that," says Rylan quickly.

Finally, one of these mere mortals is acknowledging that they are unable to obtain such a status of leadership that will beat what I already possess. She will be greatly rewarded.

"I'm sorry, are you freaking stupid?" ask Andrew impatiently. "I am the only one in this group with any chance at all of leading one of us to victory!" he shouts angry.

"Actually, you weren't even supposed to go in. It was supposed to be Poseidon." says the girl from 4 as she shrugs him off completely. This is why he can't lead. Too much female disrespect in our group. I would never tolerate that for anything.

"Poseidon is a joke!" screams the boy from 4 angrily as he pumps his fist in the air. "I'm a Victor! I'm a Victor damn it!"

"You're a child." spits the girl from 4 venomously. "I do agree though that we need a team leader. My vote is for, uh, well, to be honest, I don't remember your name," she says looking back at Rylan.

"Ha!" I say verbally. "Rylan couldn't let a fly out of a paper bag and you want her to lead a whole career group?!" I respond. "There's no way I'm letting you mere mortals lead me! I'm a God for crying out loud!"

"Here we go." says Rylan as she rolls her eyes.

"You can roll your eyes all you want you good for nothing twit! I'm the leader this year!" I say angrily.

"No," says Rylan firmly. "You aren't. I'm tired of the males always dominating this game. I'm tired of constantly having to bow down to you in the suite, on the train, and I'm not doing it here. I'm leading the pack this year. All in favor?"

Everyone excluding myself and the boy from four raises their hand.

"Then it's settled," she says

"I won't submit to you," I say bitterly.

"Then you can leave." snaps the girl from 4. The girl from one lets out a haughty laugh and high fives her as she looks at me with a snide smirk.

"I'm going to kill all of you," I say.

The elevator dings and the girl from District 9 comes running up and is huffing and puffing. "Sorry guys, I just got done with my training time," she says. "I was going to come up, but then I realized that it's time for them to bring my District Partner in."

We all perk up. The heads are spinning and swirling with who it could be. Of course nobody they bring it could possibly beat me at all. I'm invincible.

"Well, maybe he can join our team," says Rylan. "As appointed leader, there is one, well, two," she says glaring at the boy from 4. "Spots available in the alliance."

The girl from 9 raises her eyes in surprise. "Well, this is a shocker ," she says.

"Sure is," says Rylan. "Now, I'm really bad with names, but Jordan, Emerald, uh," she pauses looking at the girl from 4.

"Sailor," she says

"Sailor, and, uh,"

"Kara." says the girl from 9.

"Yes, all of those people can follow. The rest, well, bye," says Rylan as the lot of them stock off towards the elevator.

* * *

 _I'm a dead man walking here_

 _That's the least of all my fears_

 _Underneath the water_

* * *

 **Gregory Smythe "Robert McCleavland", 17**

 **District 9 Male**

Leave it to the second best agent in the agency to mess up such a simple mission. Shutting down a dirty brothel, how hard can that possibly be right? Well according to Gretchen the answer would be very hard. I'm here for one reason only, to get both of us out of here.

The train pulls to a stop, and as expected the careers, and Kara is all waiting in front of the academy when I get off the platform. Gretchen's eyes flicker a bit, but she instantly composes herself. If you weren't trained to read facial expressions like we are, you wouldn't have noticed.

"Hey," says a pretty girl. She is sporting a black tank-top with the number two on the strap. She extends her hand and I take it and shake it shyly. "My name is Rylan," she says.

"Robert," I say. "It's very nice to meet you."

"Well, we won't know how well you'll do in training," continues the girl "Because obviously, we have time slots now, well, you didn't know that but we have time slots," she says talking to herself. She seems uncomfortable. "Kara will let us know how you do in training, we will trust her to give us an accurate presentation, and if you're good you can join us," she says brightly. "Good luck guys," she says as she walks away. One by one the others continue to follow her. Kara stays behind and watches with me as they enter the elevator.

"What the hell are you doing here, Gregory!?" she says.

"Well, _Gretchen_ ," I say angrily that she said my real name out loud here. "You clearly were unable to complete your mission, but I would expect nothing less from someone who has always been my number two!"

"You realize one of us has to die at this point right?" she snarks at me. "Let me warn you that it will NOT be me."

"I'm getting us both out of here," I say confidently.

Without waiting for a response I start my walk into the building. It's been awhile since I was in here. Gretchen was actually in my class when I graduated.

The elevator dings and I step on, with Gretchen quick to follow. The stainless steel doors bring back a lot of memories. There's so much that these careers don't know, and that they'll never know.

"Do you remember the last time we were in this elevator?" I ask cheekily as Gretchen goes wide-eyed and turns quickly.

"We aren't doing this here," she says quickly. "What is the plan?"

"Stop trying to rush things," I say. I notice her hand on her rail and place mine on top of hers. She lingers for a second and then pulls back really quick. Her face is flushed red, and when the elevator dings she runs out onto the suite.

"That isn't professional." she says quickly as she is still trying to compose herself.

"Sorry, I didn't notice your hand there," I say smiling as I walk towards the bedrooms. I look into one of them that is very made up still and almost looks new. "This is my room I'm assuming?" I say pointing to it.

She nods and I step in and lift my watch to my mouth and begin my routine check in. Gretchen comes into the room, and sits on the bed and waits for me to finish talking with my handler in the agency.

"What's going on." she asks.

"Someone in the agency is working against us," I say blatantly.

"Who do they think it is?"

"Jessica Bradley," I say

Her eyes widen as she scoots back farther on the bed and uses the wall to lean against. She closes her eyes and frowns. "She was in our class," she says silently. "Is she working with the bureau?"

"We think she's leading it," I say, and watch as Gretchen's eyes fill with tears that I know she will never let roll down her face.

"You okay?" I ask concerned

"I will be," she says as she gets up and leaves the room.

* * *

 _The Next Day..._

* * *

 _Take me for what I am._

 _Who I was meant to be._

 _And if you give a damn_

 _Take me baby, or leave me._

* * *

 **Asami Dawn, 16**

 **District 12 Female**

I'm nervous. It's the private sessions and I have absolutely no alliance, or even a safety net to feel comfortable with. Douglas is nice enough, but honestly, I see him talking with the tributes from 10 a lot. It's none of my business, but, I see them killing him once it's time to turn on each other.

"Hi." I practically jump out of my seat as hardly anyone has said a word to me since the games have started. The girl from District 11 scoots down next to me as Douglas is coaching the District 10 girl on what to do in her training.

"I noticed that you were alone too." says the girl. "My name is Fir."

"Asami," I respond.

"That's a nice name." she says brightly.

She seems nice enough, but there is a lot of questions running through my mind. Why did she wait so long to talk to me? Why _is_ she talking to me? What if her District partner says something?

"Thanks," I respond a little late because I was overthinking things.

"Look, this can seem a little rushed, and actually a little overbearing. I need an alliance, though. Working with my District Partner is obviously a no go because he's, you know, awful." she says. "But I am out of options at this point," her eyes widen. "I didn't mean that how it came out. I just really don't want to go through this alone," she says and then slaps her face on her hands. "I mean,-"

I laugh to myself. At least I know that I'm not the only one that is struggling to get a good situation going for the games. I needed someone, and she is offering, but is it worth trusting someone this late in the process?

"At least until the final 10," she says sticking out her hand. "I might not be the smartest, but I'm strong."

She doesn't have to sit here and prove herself to me, and I think, even though she claims she isn't, that she's smart enough to know that. What she sees in me though to ask to be an ally is what throws me off. She seems a tad impulsive? Maybe even a little emotional.

But I don't have any other offers banging the door down.

"Okay," I say. "Yeah, until the top 10," I say holding out my hand for her to shake it. She smiles as she takes my hand and puts it in a deadlock. The girl wasn't kidding when she said she was strong.

"Fir, they are ready for you now." says the trainer as she opens up the door to allow her to enter. I didn't even realize that people were leaving. When she gets up to leave Douglas walks over to me and whispers something.

"We'll talk later," he says, but then he sits in absolute silence until Fir comes out of her private score session. I give her a thumbs up and a questioning look, and she gives me an "it was alright" kind of response.

They call Douglas in shortly after, and I realize that I'm the last to go in. This is very intimidating and awfully scary. I take a deep breath and begin counting the numbers on the ceiling tile, I realize that I can't count past fifty once I reach it though and then slump in my chair closing my eyes. Shortly after the door opens and Douglas walks out of the room. He looks confident and ready to get his score later this evening.

"Good luck." he says.

"Thanks," I reply.

"Asami they're ready for you." says one of the trainers as I get up from my chair. I walk over to the door and place my hand on the knob. Taking a deep breath I twist it and step into the room that will likely tell the world that I'm a joke and not to waste money on me.

"I just hope Fir does better than I expect to do," I say to myself as I go to the center of the room and wave.

"My name is Asami Dawn. I'm the female District 12 tribute, and I'm ready to show you what I can do.

* * *

 _Once I was seven years old_

 _My momma told me_

 _Go make yourself some friends_

 _Or you'll be lonely_

* * *

 **Emerald Thunders, 17**

 **District 1 Female**

It's weird really. When I was in the academy, I never once thought that I would ever actually be in the games. I never once thought that something as stupid as me laughing all the time would get me there either. Here I am, though. Awaiting my score to be revealed.

I don't think I did awful, but I in no way, expect to be the best in the group. I expect that to fall to Rylan, or maybe even Kara. She has a lot of experience that I'm not quite sure how it got there. There is definitely something more to that girl than what meets the eye.

"You nervous?" Jordan asks as he strolls into the living room. His hair is wet, and I imagine he just got out of the shower. He's wearing a dark red sweatshirt with gray sweatpants.

"I'm not. Whatever happens in this game is what is meant to happen." I say as I chuckle to myself. "We are all just pieces on a chess board for the big whatever it is in the sky!" I say brightly.

"How do you do that?" he ask me curiously.

"Do what?"

"Be so positive. So go with the flow. Your life is on the line. Aren't you even slightly on edge for that?"

"I've had my eyes opened a lot," I say. "I learned very early on that life isn't always guaranteed. When I had cancer, everyone was very quick to write me off. People were always telling me that I was going to be okay, but you could see it in their eyes that they thought I was going to die."

His eyes look like they're intrigued and I've caught his attention. He adjusts to a position where he's sitting with his legs crossed in the chair and he gives me a look that tells me to keep going.

"Looking back at the diagnosis now, it's actually quite funny that I survived. Everything was going against me." I say. "That's why I laugh so often, though. Laughing was the one things that cancer couldn't take away from me. It could take my energy, my desire to move, and even my friends as they didn't know how to handle me being sick. But my joy? I would never let that be taken away."

I smile to myself happily as I look over to him. He looks happy, and dare I say inspired?

"So to answer your question, I've looked death in the face before. He doesn't scare me anymore. It's almost like I'm greeting an old friend."

Our escort busts into the room in a fit of excitement. "CHILDREN!" they exclaim as they rush into the center of the room, "IT'S TIME FOR YOUR RESULTS! TURN IT ON! TURN IT ON!"

We flick the tv on with just enough time to see the Capitol logo appear on the screen. Jada Mastiff sits with her hair done in a spiked fashion. She dawns a dark red dress with a black lace on top. I would personally never wear it, but it's edgy like she is, so I mean whatever works for her.

"Hello Panem," she says with a brilliant smile. "My name is Jada Mastiff, CEO of J&A Co, and I'm so excited to be your Master of Ceremonies this year for the 25th Annual Hunger Games." She stands up from the desk she sits behind and begins to navigate the stage with a live audience in the studio with her. "This year the game will be played like no other, with many twist and turns, but we've no time for that right now!"

The audience boos and she throws up her hands to settle them.

"Alright, alright. I can tell you one thing. It's going to be really heated games." she winks at the camera and the audience cheers. "But you've met the tributes. Guys, are you ready for their scores?"

The audience roars as Jordan and I sit in the room. I don't think Jordan is nervous, but you could cut our escort with a knife and tension would pour out. Jada adjusts herself to where a screen is behind her, and when she brings her hand up, a giant picture of Jordan fills the screen.

"Coming from District 1, we have Mr. Jordan Florencia. Ladies I hear he's single!" she says in a suggestive tone, which gets a lot of excitement from the audience. "Mr. Florencia earned a solid score of 9!" she says as a giant number 9 appears over Jordan's face. "Wow let's give it up for Mr. Florencia!"

"Next we have Emerald Thunders!" the audience roars as a giant picture of me also appears. "Emerald has a very touching back story." Jada begins as she looks into the camera sympathetically. "But I'll let her tell you about that tomorrow at the interviews! Let's get to the good stuff," she says. "Emerald earned the solid score of an 8!" The audience cheers, but it's not as high as I wanted. I guess I'll just have to kill it in the actual arena.

"That's all we have time for right now, folks! Join us after this brief commercial break to find out the rest of our scores!"

The audience cheers as the camera pans outwards and the commercial comes on for the latest gadget that Capitolites just "have to have." I'll give it to Ms. Mastiff, though, she sure knows how to work a crowd.

 **Guys, I'm so sorry that this is so late! I wish that I could tell you it's school or family stuff, but Big Brother Over the Top is ruining my life. BUT MY GIRL SHELBY WON THAT VETO SO KILL IT, GIRL! SAVE MORGAN**

 **Training Scores**

Jordan Florencia-9

Emerald Thunders-8

Saxum Flavus-10

Rylan Spain-9

Vinton Malik-7

Athena Mistnyl- 4

Andrew Coubisou- 9

Sailor Atkinson-8

Pine Heart-5

Curie Ling-4

Troy Jenkins-5

Rowena Birch-6

Aspen Marx-5

Eve Sumac-8

Miles Dart-3

Angelica Winters-2

Kara Castille-10

Gregory Smythe-10

Zebedee Barnes-7

Savannah Sage-4

Rocko Warner-2

Fir Acsia- 4

Douglas Waters-6

Asami Dawn-3

 **Also, the top 5 vote-getters on my poll were…: Pine Heart, Eve Sumac, Emerald Thunders, Sailor Atkinson, Curie Ling. (Pine and Eve tied for first place, while the other three tied for second.) I tried showing it on my page, but it wouldn't cooperate with me…**

 **Next is the interviews! Let me know what's happening!**

 **Keep it classy,**

 **Caleb**


	22. Interviews and The Launch

**For starters, I'm very disappointed that absolutely NO ONE noticed that "Jessica Bradley" is Jess from the beginning of the story. Come on people. I'm dropping MUCHO hints here. (Also I did a Harry Potter reference and NO ONE caught it either. Maybe I'm slipping..)**

* * *

 _All around me are familiar faces_

 _Worn out places_

 _Worn out faces_

 _Bright and early for the daily races_

 _Going nowhere, going nowhere_

* * *

 **Andrew Coubisou, 17**

 **District 4 Male**

Districts 1 and 2 have completely finished their interviews, while District 3 is just starting. I'm really tired of watching all these nobodies drag out their interview like they'll be relevant after tomorrow. I'm going to kill all of them anyways.

It's really hard being this superior. It's like there are no limitations to what I can do, and total limitation for everyone else. They just can't see how limited they are because, well, they're limited.

"Jada would be such a pretty little doll." says the boy from District 3 as his name is called.

He walks out onto the stage, and honestly he is altogether one of the most fascinating people I've ever met and the most creepy all at the same time. He seems to have no bounds and no ends to what he is going to say and what he wants to say. I don't know how many times he can say that he wants to kill his District partner. But he is a little unsettling. He's definitely a crafty little peasant.

"So Vinton, Tell me a little about yourself other than what you'd like to do to your District partner." urges Jada hopefully as she tries to find the common ground between semi-normal and Vinton.

"Well, I like rewiring things," he says

"That's great! What do you-"

The bell goes off and Jada pretends to be sad as Vinton walks off. What a scrub. He's literal buttcheeks who has no chance of winning this games whatsoever. I turn to look at Sailor, but she's been ignoring me since the last time there was a group confrontation in the careers group. It's hard being out of the careers, and to make it worse, that boy from District 9 got accepted with absolute open arms! Who the hell is he?

Also, does no one want to talk about how the hell this kid got a 10?! How either of them got a 10?!

When people outperform the standards I had in my head for them it really bothers me! It's like they don't know how bad they're messing me up.

"Please welcome to the stage, all the way from the shores of District 4, Andrew Coubisou!"

Forget about that flop, it's my time to shine.

I walk out onto the stage and smile as the audience cheers me on. There is something about people that see someone superior and cheer for them that makes me happy. Maybe it's because I'm always on the side that is superior so it just works.

"Andrew come have a seat please!" says Jada with a smile on her face.

"Yeah, okay, whatever," I say as I take a seat next to her on the center stage. A large carpet covers the ground. It's tacky and white with a lot of fur on it. The tackiness of the couch is joined with two bright red love seats in the middle of the stage.

"So Andrew, please tell us about yourself," asks Jada happy. "Are you excited for the games this year? Is it something that you think you're going to win?"

"Thinking you'll win is for unconfident people, Jada. I'm positive I'm going to win."

The audience roars as I continue to tell them just how much better I am than them. There is a lot of laughter, and I've never considered to myself to be especially funny. One of the very few flaws that I have.

When the buzzer rings I walk off towards the other end of the stage and see the boy from District 2 and District 3 waiting for me.

"Andrew, we have to stick together." says District 2 boy.

"I'm sorry I don't associate with losers," I say as I continue to walk past them. He grabs my arm and squeezes and I turn around in shock. How dare this peasant touch me!?

"I overheard Rylan talking," he says. "They're coming for me and you first. We can take on just Rylan. But Rylan, Sailor, Jordan, Emerald, and the two from 9? Not likely. Even a God has his limitations." says the boy from 2.

"Why is he here?" I ask pointing at the boy from 3?

"Because I have a certain level of expertise that my dear friend Saxum here wanted to utilize." says the boy from 3 with a crooked smile.

"You're literal butt cheeks," I say to him disgusted.

Saxum gives me a pleading look which I'm sure is hard for him to do, and I can't deal with whining from the inadequate.

"Fine," I say. "But I'm the leader."

He rolls his eyes and begins to tell me the plan for tomorrow's bloodbath.

* * *

 _I'm the blaze, I'm the siren, I'm the exit door_

 _I'm the cape, I'm the villain, I'm the metaphor_

 _Or I'm a good gun in a bad man's war, I paved the way_

 _I'm a left hook, I'm a battered jaw, I'm the pain_

* * *

 **Curie Ling, 17**

 **District 5 Female**

"The system is obviously broken," I tell Jada as we sit on the couches and talk during my interview. "Obviously not the government, Long live Panem!" the audience cheers at that remark. "But we have people that are dying for something that we never even did."

"Do you think the Hunger Games are fair, Curie?"

I pause and look at her. She is smiling, but I think she is a bit nervous. It's not that I think they are unfair, but it's more so that it happened to _me._ I never thought I would end up in this situation. It's nice when you have the spotlights and the cameras flashing on you, but the minute those go away you have a knife in your face and you're running for your life.

"I don't think they're unfair in theory," I say. "There is a lot of different ways I can answer this." I begin, "But I think the best way to do is to simply say I'm young. I've struggled my whole life, and my sister-" I wasn't expecting to open up that much tonight. This just became a sinking ship fast.

"Sister? You have a sister? Is she older or younger? How did she respond to you getting reaped?"

The questions roll off her tongue with a rapid-fire speed, and I am having trouble breathing. The lights are suddenly the brightest things in the world, and this once loud audience becomes silent compared to the sound of my heart beating. My hands are trembling as I look at Jada with nervous eyes.

"I-I-" how do you possibly tell someone that your sister doesn't know she's your sister? "She-she is yo-younger than me."

Curie what the hell is wrong with you! You're never this nervous or confused. Snap out of it girl.

"Curie?" ask Jada concerned. "Are you okay?"

"I-yes," I say nodding. I feel my heart start to calm down, and I feel like the only way to redeem this moment and allow myself a chance to get sponsors is, to be honest. This is the most twisted situation I've ever gotten myself into.

"Alana Ling," I say into the camera. "My name is Curie, I probably won't ever get to meet you alive, but just incase you didn't ask your dad the night before the reapings...I am your sister. I'm sorry you had to find out this way."

The audience sits quietly, and it's not because of my heart this time. You could hear a pin drop in this audience. Jada is looking around a little nervous not quite sure where to go from here. I look over at the timer that sits on the stage and I have exactly one minute and forty-five seconds left. I clear my throat, stand, and smile at Jada.

"Thank you for your time, excuse me," I say as I walk off the stage.

When I get in the wings Pine is standing there looking really sad. I don't know if it's for me, or if he's just being mopey like he has been during the games. When I get to the wings he wraps his arms around me, and I can't hold it in anymore. Tears pour out and we sink to the floor.

"It's okay," he says. "Let it out, it's my turn to be there for you," he says as he continues to hug me as I cry.

Rowena runs off the stage after her interview and comes to check in on me. It's funny because as humans we genuinely care for one another, but as competitors, it's so stupid. We can't have these bonds. We can't feel this for each other. Friendship kills in this arena more so than the careers do. I don't want to be heartless, but I'm not ready to die.

"Are you okay?" ask Rowena

"I will be," I say as I finally move away from Pine.

I know I shouldn't allow myself to feel comforted. I know I shouldn't allow myself to feel secure. The problem is these people are the closest things to real friends I have ever had. I had people back in 5, but it was never something where they genuinely cared for me. Never something where they genuinely saw me as a companion. It was always how I could be used to get into someone's good graces. How could I find something out?

"How's Troy doing?" I ask Rowena trying to push the subject away from myself.

"He was really nervous before I went on…" she says as she

"Well let's hope he has a better interview than I did," I say as I walk over to the curtain and look out onto the stage. As I watch as they call Troy out, Rowena walks over to my side and puts her head on my shoulder, and Pine walks over and does the same on the opposite shoulder.

"We're all going to die, huh?" asks Rowena a bit nervous

"Likely," I respond as Troy sits down on the chair in the center of the stage.

* * *

 _And breathe…_

 _Just breathe…_

* * *

 **Troy Jenkins, 18**

 **District 6 Male**

"Hey, Troy," says Jada smiling.

"I can't feel my body right now," I say out loud.

What the hell am I doing?! I can't feel my body right now?! The audience is laughing, but it's not even with me, it's at me! Jada is laughing at me! My alliance is standing in the wings looking at me with wide eyes. This is a disaster.

"I mean, you're just so beautiful Jada. How can I even think about anything other than you?"

She blushes as she stares at me. She looks out into the audience and says something, but my heart is beating too loud to hear anything going on. Keep flirting Troy, she likes it, the audience probably does, and you don't look like a dumbass.

"You're very sweet, Troy!" says Jada with a giggle. "Tell me, what's it like being in the Capitol rather than District 6?

"Well, the people are a lot prettier," I say. The audience cheers when I say that. My nerves start to settle and suddenly I feel a little bit more confident. "I mean, other than that though it's been a big difference really," I say.

"Really? How so?" she urges.

"Did you guys know that there are more than two ways to cook chicken?" I ask earnestly. "The people that work for the center keep bring me all these different chickens, and for the longest, I thought the only ways to eat it was boiled or roasted!" I say excitedly. "My favorite has definitely been fried chicken, but I also heard that it's bad for you? Come on now. We need to fix that."

The audience cheers as they clap their hands in agreement. Jada chuckles.

"I also really am confused by all the different soaps you guys have," I say. "Back home we had one. It was called a bar, and you used that for your hair, body, and when you wash up for supper."

I know that the audience is probably laughing at the poverty of my district, or maybe they just genuinely like what I'm saying, but the point it I'm not allowing myself to get nervous, and I'm keeping them from booing me off the stage.

"What's been your favorite type of soap?" ask Jada excitedly

"There was one that gives me really soft hair, and I smell like strawberries!"

The crowd laughs, and I look over to the wings and see my alliance giving me a thumbs up as they look at me in the wings. When the buzzer finally does go off I take Jada's hand and kiss it.

"Thank you for spending time with me this evening!" I say. She smiles and thanks me for talking with her. I stroll off to the wings of the stage and look at my alliance who has huge smiles on their face.

"What the hell was that?!" ask Rowena surprised.

"What do you mean?"

"You suddenly got a personality?" she asks accusingly.

"Woah now," I say. "That's not very nice."

Curie laughs as she holds up her hands. "Oh my goodness, guys! Fried chicken!" she says

"I didn't even say it like that!" I say with a chuckle as we walk off towards the elevator. It's been a long night and I'm ready to go to sleep. When we reach floor 5, Curie and Pine get off the elevator and wish us a good night. When the doors close I suddenly remember a number of things.

The first, I am not a Capitol citizen. The second, I probably won't get any sleep tonight because tomorrow is the day that I've been dreading since I've arrived in this place. Lastly, tomorrow could very well be the last day of my life.

"You okay?" ask Rowena as the elevator door slides open and we walk into the sixth-floor suite.

"Just realizing that this lavish living is all a disguise for what is really going on," I say.

"What do you mean?" she asks

"The people that live here have the world at their fingertips. Something that I and you would kill for back home. The problem is that I've almost forgotten what it's like to be from District 6. I've forgotten the struggle that I've faced back home. I've forgotten what it's like to be in poverty. I'm going into this game spoiled, and I think it just might do me in."

"So much for uplifting Troy," she says as she sits down on the couch and pats the spot next to her. "Let's talk until we fall asleep. I don't want to be alone."

I go and sit down on the couch next to Rowena. Across the living room is a big window with a view of the city. We sit there quiet as we look out into the city that will surely be excited at our deaths.

"It's kind of messed up, isn't it?" she asks me.

"Yeah," I say. "It's a real mess."

* * *

 _There's something about the sky_

 _How it flashes from day to night_

 _Always changing before our eyes_

 _Leaving us asking the question "why"?_

* * *

 **Miles Dart, 17**

 **District 8 Male**

"Angelica you do have to come out of your room," I say to her as I knock on the door. We are due to leave for the launch tube in less than thirty minutes, and the last time I saw Angelica she hadn't even gotten out of bed.

"What's the worst that they're going to do?!" she screams through the door. "They've already signed my death sentence. I can't lose anything else at this point!"

An avox comes over and pushes me to the side. They take a key, and clicks it into her door's lock, and turn the lock. He opens the door and lets me go inside. She sits there with the blanket around her head and body. She has a pout on her face and she looks very angry. Her room is trashed with multiple objects on the floor that shouldn't be there. These avox are going to have a major clean up.

"I'm not going." she says bitterly.

"Unfortunately, you don't have that right," I say as I walk towards her bed and begin to pull the covers away from her. She begins to fight me, but I notice that her movements aren't as nimble as normal. "Angelica," I ask shocked. "Are you drunk?"

"I swear to drunk I'm not God!" she says with a smile as she tries to pull the blanket out of my hands.

I walk over to her bathroom and see a glass on the sink. I fill it with cold water from the tap and walk back over to her where she is on the bed. With one swift motion, I splash the water on her allowing the cold liquid to soak her from head to toe.

"HAVE YOU LOST YOUR DAMN MIND!?" she screams at me as she begins wiping the water out of her eyes. She stands up from the bed and I realize that she is in the same clothes from the night before.

"Angelica this doesn't look good," I say as I run over to where they've laid out our tribute uniforms. They couldn't find a clean place for it to sit in her room, so hers was hanging up on the closet door frame.

I take the clothes off the hanger and throw it at her. "Get changed," I say as I turn around and face the wall.

"You're so bossy!" she says angrily as she gets up from the bed. I hear her dress unzip and her sliding into the new clothes. "Okay, you can turn around," she says as she sits back on the bed and holds up her foot. "Please put my shoes on for me. I'm tired!" she says

I grab the combat boots that they have on the ground next to the closet and a pair of socks from the drawer. The combat boots are black, and the tribute arena costumes are black shirts with navy blue cargo pants. Once I have the boots laced up and on her feet she gets up and shakes her head at me.

"I don't want to do this, Miles," she says. "Cyrus got a pass!" she cries. "I want a pass too!"

"Cyrus did not get a pass," I say.

"He doesn't have to do this, though." she says as she throws her body around in a whining tantrum.

The avox comes back into the suite carrying a syringe. He hands it to me and then holds Angelica still pointing to her arm. I take the syringe and inject the contents into her arm, and slowly she starts to come back into reality.

"Oh shit, that's a hangover." she says after five minutes.

"No time to have a pity party we have the launch," I say as I grab her by her hand and lead her to the elevator.

"Couldn't you have just left me drunk?" she asks bitterly

"Where's the fun in that?" I ask

* * *

 _There is a house, in new Orleans_

 _They call the rising sun._

 _And it's been the ruin of many a poor boy._

 _God, I know I'm one._

* * *

 **Zebedee Barnes, 17**

 **District 10 Male**

Well, this is the moment. For the next five minutes I remain in this room, and after that, I'm thrust into an arena to fight for my life.

Last night after the interviews Douglas pulled me and Savannah aside and asked us if we were comfortable expanding our alliance. We were initially confused, but he reminded us of our mission. Get an outer District home. Fir, Asami, Douglas, Savannah, and I are all going to work together in this arena. The girls were very hesitant to join on, but the careers are too frightening this year, and with District 9s and the boy from 3 scoring as well as they did, we didn't really have a choice.

"Tributes in the next three minutes you will enter the clear tube in front of you."

I would have gotten that internship. Of course, I'll never know for sure unless I get back, but I know. It's weird. There are some things you were just born to do. I always had a heart for people. I've always had a heart for helping. The political angle is obviously not the best way to change things, but they impact the most people, and that's all I've ever wanted.

How am I going to look my District in the face if I return, though? Even if I only kill one person, that is still one person that I decided my life was more important that theirs. That's not helping them, but helping myself.

"Tributes, please step into the tube."

I walk toward the tube and take a deep breath as I step in. I turn around and face the door that I walked into when coming in this room as the sliding glass tube closes in around me. The platform begins to lift up, and my heart literally stops beating for a number of seconds.

When the platform rises I get the first look at what could very well be my final resting place. In the center of a giant field in the cornucopia, and almost directly behind that is a tall cylinder like object. It's on fire, and you would think that it would be really hot because of it, but it's not. The arena itself looks to be a forest type arena, but there is a different texture to the elements than normal.

I look to my left and see that Asami and Fir are on that side of me. Asami is 4 tributes over, and Fir is 2 away from her. Turning to my right, Savannah stands 4 tributes away. She waves at me from where she is and nods. Douglas is right next to her, and they look comfortable. I'm really the only person that is not next to anyone from the alliance.

"Tributes please don't leave your platform until the timer ends."

The girl from 4 and the boy from 8 are next to me on either side. I look to the girl from 4 and flag down her attention. She looks over at me and nods to acknowledge me. "You don't kill me right now, and I'll stay out of your way," I say.

She nods yes and then turns back to the cornucopia.

45

44

43

42

41

40

BOOM!

We all jump as we hear the platform explode. We all look to see who it is, and the girl from District 3 lets out a horrendous scream. Where the girl from District 8 used to lay, a pile of smoke and ash erupt in her place.

"She just ran off!" screams the girl. "I tried to stop her, but she just ran!"

The boy from 8 looks down and frowns as the timer still clicks. I flag him down and he turns to me. "I'm sorry," I say.

"I knew she would do it," he says as he turns his attention back to the cornucopia. "Maybe she's finally at peace."

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

"LET THE 25th ANNUAL HUNGER GAMES BEGIN!"

 **The bloodbath is officially next chapter!**

 **Eulogies**

24th-Angelica Winters, District 8 Female, Ran off platform early: I think we all saw this coming. She didn't ever want to be in this position and certainly never wanted to be in the games. Angelica was a good character and tried to make her as vibrant as I could. The minute I saw her form though I knew she would take a swan dive. Thanks CalebBeers for the submission.

 **Death List**

25th- Cyrus Turner

24th- Angelica Winters

 **Alliance Update**

Careers: Emerald/Jordan/Rylan/Sailor/Gretchen/Gregory

Outer District Power: Savannah/Zebedee/Asami/Fir/Douglas

Friends4lyfe: Curie/Pine/Rowena/Troy/Athena

Villains AF: Saxum/Vinton/Andrew

Loners: Aspen/Eve/Miles/Rocko

 **What did you think of the interviews?**

 **Angelica's death surprise you?**

 **You excited we are FINALLY here?**

 **Who do you think dies next chapter?**

 **I wrote one of the song lyrics in this chapter. Can you guess which one?**

 **Lastly, shout out to those who have stuck with me. Appreciate it AF.**

 **Keep it classy,**

 **Caleb**


	23. Bloodbath

**I was too excited to not start working on this right away. There will be some POVs that are shorter than others because I believe some of these tributes wouldn't stick around and get caught. If they have a short POV in this chapter, it doesn't mean they're forgotten. Same if they don't get a POV in this. No news is good news.**

* * *

 _I will find my way_

 _I will go the distance_

 _I will face the world_

 _Fearless, proud, and strong_

* * *

 **Aspen Marx, 18**

 **District 7 Male**

I don't plan on dying in this arena. I certainly don't plan on being one of the first to die. There's too much of me that I still have to figure out, and too much that I definitely need to reevaluate before I pass. There is a whole other side of me that I have yet to explore.

"LET THE 25TH ANNUAL HUNGER GAMES BEGIN!" screams the voice over the intercom.

The first thing I notice when I run off the platform is the ground, though firm, is not as hard as you'd expect it to be. As I run towards the side to grab a bag and get out, I notice the tributes are leaving footprints where they run. That doesn't make any sense considering we are currently in a forest.

When I get to the bag I grab it, and take off running, but am quickly thrown to the ground by an unknown person. When they're on top of me they flip me over to reveal the boy from District 4. He's smiling at me with a big grin, and if I don't do something soon I know I'm going to die.

"Oh hey, Scrub," he says tauntingly. "Let's put you to sleep!" he says with to much joy in his voice.

He mounts on top of me, but I make it a fact to make sure I have some wiggle room. To my surprise, he either allows it or doesn't realize that I have it. He looks down at me with a fake frown on his face.

"Mommy and Daddy were probably expecting you to come home, huh?"

While he's giving his monolog I lift my knee up hitting him in his groin. He inhales sharply as he falls over to the side allowing me to quickly get up and sprint towards the trees. I run until I can't breathe anymore, and then I climb a tree before I even entertain the idea of relaxing.

I hear a noise under me, and quickly open up the pack in hopes of having some kind of weapon. It literally would be painfully annoying to make it out of the cornucopia death ring, but to die when I should be scotch free. As I dig I find a small knife. It's not much but it's something.

As the noise gets closer to me, I realize that it's a person. I hold the knife ready to strike and wait for the right move.

A hand appears on the tree branch I'm sitting on, and just as I'm about to bring the knife down I hear someone scream, "WAIT!" Eve climbs up on the branch and looks at me.

"You douche bag you didn't wait for me." she says as she leans back on the branch heaving.

"I didn't realize we were an alliance," I respond confused.

"Of course we are you nimrod!" she says "We're district partners. Plus, if I have to outrun anyone, judging by your performance a second ago, my best odds are with you." she says teasing as she throws me a pack without looking. I barely catch it as I take a sharp intake of breath.

"Not smart," I say

"Eh, did we get anything good?" she says dismissively

In Eve's pack, we have a bigger knife, 3 rolls of bread, a pack of beef jerky, and two water bottles. In mine, we had a roll of bread, a water bottle, 2 belts, and some weird glasses.

"We've enough for a bit," I say looking at her.

"Now we wait," she says. Her face changes from snarky and joking to serious for a minute, and I think the reality of everything just hit her in the face.

"You okay?"

"Yeah," she says. "I just really have to pee, but I don't want to climb down."

* * *

 _I don't feel any pain_

 _A little fall of rain_

 _Can hardly hurt me now_

* * *

 **Jordan Florencia, 18**

 **District 1 Male**

I've had a recurring dream since being here about Silver. More and more I see her in everything here. There is beauty in so much of the Capitol, yet so much brokenness. It's a perfect metaphor for her.

The boy from 8 is running past me, but before I can even react a spear flies through the air and lands in the back of his head.

"Get your head in the game, 1." says Rylan as she turns around and deflects a blow from the boy from 11.

I see a flash of blonde hair and instantly turn expecting to see her. To see Silver, instead, I see Sailor being attacked by Saxum and the boy from 3. She looks brave, but I know she has no shot in hell without help. I run over to her with my sword and brace myself for a fight. She stands with her trident poised and ready to kill when the boy from the lunges at her.

She sidesteps and attempts to stab him in the gut, but he's quick on his feet. Saxum meanwhile sits back and waits for a good time to strike. I watch as Sailor and the boy from 3 dance around each other, swinging their weapons around like it's a batting cage.

The boy from 3 eventually gets her facing the opposite way of Saxum, and I see him creep up on her. He brings his sword up, and in that moment I see Silver flash before my eyes. He swings the sword down, and before I know what I'm doing I step in front of the blade.

A feel a sharp pain as the blade pierces my chest. Saxum and the boy from 3 run off and Sailor turns around and looks shocked.

"Jordan you idiot!" she screams as she kneels down next to me. "It's going to be okay," she says

I know for a fact that it isn't going to be okay. As the world around me starts spinning, and the colors of the arena all start to mix together, I see her standing there smiling down at me.

"Jordan, it's going to be okay." says Silver as she sticks out her hand.

I smile as I close my eyes and embrace the girl that I fell in love with so long ago. At least we are at peace together again.

* * *

 _I will stumble_

 _I will fall down_

 _I will not be moved_

* * *

 **Savannah Sage, 15**

 **District 10 Female**

There is so much death in my face right now I don't know how the heck anyone is getting out of this bloodbath alive.

My alliance plan was simple. Asami and I would run to the safest place while the others would go and grab the supplies. I focused more on the survival and healing aspects of training, so it was a no-brainer that I was the one everyone wanted to keep alive. Asami offered to be my assistant in the event I needed help because she focused on that as well.

"It's taking them a really long time," says Asami as she watches our alliance members fight for supplies. Zebedee has grabbed three packs and is currently on his way to spot he saw Asami and I run to.

When he arrives his breath is shaky and he watches with us as we wait for Fir and Douglas. Douglas is currently on his way, but we have no idea where Fir is. I scan the battlefield and look for where she could potentially be, but I see nothing of the girl that just joined our alliance.

"Hey, losers!" screams the boy from District 4.

I guess we weren't as well hidden as we thought. The boy from 4 stands behind the cornucopia and Fir stands directly in front of him.

"How about we play a game?" he ask us as he and Fir are walking closer. The chaos of the background makes it feel like this is something from a movie, except in this film no one yells cut when the scene is over. "One of you sacrifice yourselves, and I won't kill her," he says as he holds a machete to her neck.

"Or all four of us can swarm you," says Zebedee

"That could work." he says, "But I could quickly just slit her throat and make a run for it."

It's silent because of the fact as much as we don't want to see her die. No one wants to die _for_ her.

 _God, please give me something_. I ask in prayer in my head. _Give me some sort of idea that I can-_

My prayer is interrupted by the sound of a yelp. Asami stands before the boy from 4, and Fir is on our side of the camp. She stands before him with a knife in her chest and begins to tremble. The boy from 4 lets out a loud laugh and runs towards the other end of the clearing.

"Why would you do that?!" ask Fir as she runs down and holds Asami's hand.

"I don't have a shot at this thing," says Asami through deep breaths. "You...you….you d-" she goes silent and her eyes stay wide open as the rest of her body goes slack. Fir lets out a wail, and Zebedee grabs her by the arm and urges the rest of us to keep moving. Fir then wipes her eyes and kisses Asami on the forehead. She grabs the packs that she was able to grab and runs off into the forest with her.

 _God, please take good care of her._ I ask in prayer as we are running.

* * *

 _I am a lost boy_

 _From neverland_

 _Usually hanging out with Peter Pan_

 _When we're bored we'll play in the woods_

 _Always on the run from Captain Hook_

* * *

 **Rowena Birch, 18**

 **District 6 Female**

Amazingly enough all of us made it through the bloodbaths. I was so scared running away from all the careers shooting things around. It was like they were just at target practice.

We set up camp a few miles away from the cornucopia. Athena has already started making a stew with the food that we got from the bloodbath. She had the brilliant idea to grab a pot. I'm glad that we brought her into the alliance.

"How many people do you think died in the bloodbath?" ask Curie as she sits next to Athena.

"Average should be around seven right?" ask Troy as he is polishing a knife that he found in one of the bags.

"I think a little less actually," I say from the rock I have been sitting on for the past hour.

A rustle in the trees alerts us all as we jump up and get ready to fight. Athena even grabs the pot of boiling water to splash onto the person that is coming into our camp. The boy from District 11 breaks through the clearing and runs towards Troy with a full fledge speed. He has a pretty big knife that has a nice reach, but Troy was prepared. He steps back, and surprisingly the first person to do anything was Athena. She throws the pot of boiling water at the boy, who lets out a giant scream.

His face turns bright red and is already scabbing over when Curie grabs the knife from Troy and stabs into the tribute's forehead. She steps back once she makes the kill and frowns.

"I didn't want to make a kill," she said to us. "I thought it would be like ripping off a band-aid and it would get easier, but I have the sickest feeling right now."

"He had to die eventually," I tell her as I put my hand on her back.

"Yeah," she says. "He had to die eventually…"

 **Well, this was my bloodbath! I tried getting a piece of every alliance, and I really hope that you guys enjoyed this. If I killed your tribute, please don't take it personally. It wasn't me hating, but me progressing a story.**

 **23rd- Miles Dart, District 8 Male, Speared by Rylan Spain: Miles was a good tribute, but to be honest he was more of a place filler for me. I knew that he wasn't going to be a plot driver, because by the time I got the submission for him I already had most of what I wanted this story to look like planned out. Thank you, Thorn, for the submission. Sorry if I didn't do as well as you'd hoped with him.**

 **22nd- Jordan Florencia, District 1 Male, Stabbed by Saxum Flavus: Jordan was submitted by a friend who stopped reading after the reaping. I wasn't quite sure what to do with his character, so when he stopped reading, it just made sense to kill off Jordan. The careers will be missed. Thanks for giving me a character with depth.**

 **21st- Asami Dawn, District 12 Female, Stabbed by Andrew Coubisou: It was either Asami or Fir for the LONGEST time. Fir seemed to have more of a fanbase, though, so when deciding to kill off one or the other, I decided on Asami. Thanks Katerina for the submission**

 **20th- Rocko Warner, District 11 Male, Tagteam by Athena Mistnyl and Curie Ling: I honestly accepted Rocko so excited to use him. He was going to be on the villain's side, and he would have been such a fun story driver. I, unfortunately, found out that he was a submission that was in multiple other stories. (Three that I know of.) So since he has so much storytime, I figured he didn't need to be in mine anymore. I told you guys to let me know this stuff before submitting.**

 **Well, that was the bloodbath. I'm sad because now I have to start killing tributes that I really really like. Not that I didn't like the bloodbaths, Angelica was one of my favorites, and she got killed first. And answers to questions before yes, I did write Mile's POV lyrics. Good call Tigris.**

 **Lastly, I did notice a surplus of reviews right before the bloodbath. xD I already have my death order, though. The only ones that keep interchanging are my top 5. So just be prepared!**

 **Don't expect an update for a little bit. I'm getting busy in school again. (A bit for me is like what, a week? Lol)**

 **Keep it classy,**

 **Caleb**


	24. Day 1

_Poor unfortunate souls_

 _In pain, indeed._

 _This one longing to be thinner_

 _This one longs to get the girl_

 _Do I help them?_

 _Yes, indeed,_

* * *

 **Vinton Malik, 18**

 **District 3 Male**

"How did both Rylan and Sailor get out of the bloodbath alive?!" screams Saxum as he punches a tree. We hear a loud pop as his finger comes out of place. He looks down and sees it dangling and just pushes it back in. Doesn't even wince.

"Fascinating," I say as I get closer to look.

"Don't touch me freak!" he says angrily as he pushes me off.

Andrew sits against a large tree running his hand along the grass next to him. He isn't looking at either of us, but rather looking at the sky waiting to see the tributes that died. It's getting dark, so I know it will come soon, but I am not all that excited to see who's left. Athena got away, and now it's a game. I have to find her.

"This grass feels weird," says Andrew. He points over to towards the direction of the cornucopia and I realize he isn't looking at the sky, but he's looking at the giant fire pillar that sits in the sky. "And is it just me, or has that thing gotten taller?" he asks me confused.

Now that he mentions it, it does sort of look taller. Looking around the arena actually, I thought it was shrinking earlier, but I also thought my eyes were just playing tricks on me. But I swear this tree has gotten shorter from the couple of hours that we have been sitting here.

"What do you think this arena is?" ask Saxum now joining in the conversation.

"Oh how nice of the King to join our conversation." says Andrew annoyed.

"Watch it. Four," he responds on edge.

"Boys settle down," I say still not maintaining my gaze on the giant fire pillar. I turn away and look at the tree and touch the bark. I've not really thought about the texture of the terrain, but now that Andrew has mentioned it, I have noticed a difference in feel that a normal tree. Almost like it's...waxy.

Wait a minute.

"Guys, what if we're looking at the pillar wrong. What if it isn't a pillar." I tell them.

Both of them breaking from their macho-man showdown glares at each other take another look at the fire pillar. They still look bewildered and they don't get what's going on. But I get it. I understand what's going on.

"What is it then, Creep?" ask Andrew as he stares at me.

"I'll hold that information to myself until you give me what I want," I tell them.

"What do you want?" ask Saxum annoyed. Clearly ready to fight if I answer this incorrectly.

"I want my District partner to die," I say bluntly.

"Fine, let's go get her." says Saxum gearing up for the event.

"No, I want to kill her," I say. "I have a very special purpose for her," I say with a smirk.

"Fine, we'll find her and help her get to you. Now, what's the arena."

I look back at the pillar and smile. It's been right in front of us the whole time. It's been so clear, that I'm actually upset with myself for not seeing this sooner. This is such a clever little scheme.

"Look at the ground and feel it," I instruct them. The look at each other weird and then bend down to touch the grass. "Now, what does that texture remind you of?" I ask. They still aren't comprehending. I can see it on their faces that I'm going to have to spell this out for them.

"Honestly, do I have to do everything?" I ask annoyed. "The ground and basically everything in this arena is not the normal texture that you know from your home District. Grass doesn't feel like grass, but it feels like a waxy texture, right?"

"Right." they both say together.

"So what if we aren't looking at the pillar for what it is? What if it isn't a pillar but a wick of some sorts. What if this arena, isn't a forest, but a combination of a number of things judging by how things are shrinking?"

"What are you saying?" ask Saxum still confused.

I roll my eyes and look at the young man annoyed. "I'm saying we are on top of a candle. I suspect that the terrain will change by tomorrow morning."

* * *

 _We are madness_

 _We are beauty_

 _We're our own redemption_

* * *

 **Emerald Thunders, 18**

 **District 1 Female**

"Take the first watch, Emerald," says Rylan as she draws out the plan on a piece of paper she found in one of the packs. Ideally, in a survival situation, you won't ever get a piece of paper to write on. The paper is a great fire starter, and I know I'm not technically the leader of this group, but this is getting a bit out of hand.

"That's fine. I don't mind." I say nicely. "How long are each watch shift?" The fire pillar is giving her just enough light that is reflected by the cornucopia. She is diligently reading.

"Oh!" says Rylan as she begins to frantically scribble her ideas on the paper. After twenty minutes of scribbling, she sets the pen down and declares that each shift will have two hours. I'll have first watched, Sailor next, then Rylan, then Kara and Gregory.

"Alright, we better get to sleep. Big day ahead of us tomorrow," says Rylan with a nice smile.

The rest of the group nods and they walk back into the cornucopia. For the first time since the games started, I have a moment to myself, and I cry. I cry for my fallen district partner, who really was sweet. I cry for the other fallen tributes who had their lives taken from them so soon. I cry because there is a something evil about these games, and people in my group have just given into the evil so easy.

"You're not meant to win these games, Emerald," I say to myself with tears welling up. "You couldn't do what you saw today."

Training is a joke compared to what the games are. Training might teach you how to use the sword, but they don't prepare you for the emotional trauma you'll get from swinging it. I'd never tell anyone this, but I let the girl from District 7 go. I had her, she was in my grasp, and I just couldn't bring myself to do it. She saw her District partner running out of the clearing and she followed him. She turned back and nodded at me before continuing to pursue him.

"Who needs sponsors anyways?" I ask as I play with a rock on the ground. I begin to chuckle as I feel each and every outline of the stone's texture. The chuckle soon turns into a hearty laugh, and the hearty laugh soon turns into a rolling on the floor moment, and I feel at ease and back to myself.

As the laughing fit continues there is a cold sensation that touches my nose, and that's very strange because, first, I'm sitting next to a giant fire pillar. Secondly, it hasn't been cold all evening. I open my eyes and wipe the tears that have suddenly welled, and to my shock, there is snow that covers the ground. The oak trees that once lined the forest are no more and they are replaced with Christmas trees. Not pine trees, literal Christmas trees. Like decorated and all.

A few miles north sits a mountain that puts our little fire pillar to shame. What the heck could possibly be going on?

"Uh, guys?" I call from outside of the cornucopia.

One by one they come out of the cornucopia, and one by one they flip out as they see the changes in the arena.

"Oh my gosh, those trees are beautiful," says Sailor as she walks over to one. She is about to stick out her hand and touch it when she thinks better of it and pulls her hand back. She starts to dig around in the snow for something and a few minutes later returns with a stick. She takes it and pokes one of the ornaments.

The ornament begins to hack away at the stick with what looks like teeth. Sailor pulls the stick back and jumps.

"Well that was not what I was expecting at all," she says as she looks at the other ornaments. She takes her stick and pokes another one, but this time the ornament explodes. I notice that the first ornament she poked was a different color than the one that just exploded.

"Guys, they're weapons," I say. "Not for us, though, but for the Capitol."

"I want to know how this climate change happened so quickly." says Kara as she is hugging her body and shivering.

A giant box accompanied by a parachute falls from the sky and into the snow. We look at each other curiously, and Rylan is the first to move towards it. When she gets to the card her eyes bug out of her head, and she realizes what is going on.

"Well, read it." says Robert as he shivers and moves closer to the box.

" _This is for everyone. Bundle up kids. You're in for a hell of a ride. Your arena is a candle."_

Inside of the box, there is a jacket for everyone. They are lined fur, and our district number sits on the left shoulder of our respected jacket. We take them with joy and put them on as we look around at each other worried.

"This just blew any strategy we were able to come up with out the water," says Rylan doubling back into the cornucopia.

* * *

 _Now that I know what I'm without_

 _You can't just leave me_

 _Breathe into me and make me real_

 _Bring me home_

* * *

 **Curie Ling, 18**

 **District 5 Female**

"IT'S FREAKING COLD!" screams Rowena angry as she is throwing things around the camp. "What the hell happened to my warm and homey forest?! These Gamemakers are driving me crazy with the amount of changes they try and throw in every year! Just let us go into a forest and kill each other. It's that freaking simple."

Of course, it isn't that simple. There is a lot of things that need to happen to make successful games, and one of them is an entertaining arena. I'm guessing that at least three of us will die from the arena itself. Two will die from being stupid and not pay attention to what they're doing in the arena. And Rowena is going to die if she doesn't stop throwing our supplies around.

Killing the boy from 11 did something to me. I can't really explain it. There was a trigger in my head that suddenly was pulled. I realized just how fickle life really was, but I also realized how much I want to live mine.

Coming into this game I never really saw a scenario of me getting out. Something about that boy dying, though, in a weird way, gave me hope. I know it's awful to say, but in a weird way, I'm glad he died. One less person to worry about.

"Nineteen more to go," I mutter to myself as Rowena continues her rampage.

"Can we not throw our supplies around?" says Athena sounding a little worried. "We haven't gotten any sponsors, and if we want any hopes of any we really shouldn't treat our stuff with disrespect."

"Shut up, 3!" says Rowena bitterly as she takes a seat on a rock. "I hate cold weather. As much as this arena represented death before, it represented a death at home at least," she says looking around. "I worked in the lumber yard in District 6. It was almost like I was walking into work again when I saw this set up in the arena. Now it looks a hot mess!" she says slamming her foot down.

Pine comes and wraps his arms around my shoulders and I am grateful for it. It's chilly now that the terrain is covered in snow. We watch in silence as all of us realize that we aren't getting any sleep tonight.

We sit still for about five minutes, then Troy gets up and begins to look around at the new trees. There are tiny little purple berries. They don't look dangerous, but knowing what we are in right now, I wouldn't put it past the Gamemakers to put something crazy in here.

"They almost look like a cherry," says Troy as he picks it up and squeezes it. "And I'm kind of hungry."

He reaches up and picks one. As he brings it towards his mouth Athena jumps up and grabs his hand. "Are you sure you want to do that?" she ask him skeptically.

"I mean, I don't think they'd put something in here just to kill us," Troy says as he pops it in his mouth.

When Troy brings his hand down I scream. His thumb and his pointer finger are entirely just bone. All of the skin has been burned off. We all look at him in fear because the last thing he had in his hand was the berry. The berry he just swallowed and put in his system.

"I didn't feel anything," says Troy confused and scared. "I still don't feel any-"

His eyes roll into the back of his head and his body falls limp before us. His cannon fires and we all stand there with our hands over our mouths. Rowena walks over to Troy and puts his head in her lap and begins to cry as she gently strokes his hair.

"Troy was a good guy," says Rowena. "He didn't deserve this."

Athena walks over to Rowena, and the now dead Troy, and pulls up his shirt. To our horror, there is a giant hole in his stomach where the berry would be. She frowns as she pulls his shirt back down and stares at him with tears welling up in her own eyes.

The scariest part about all of this is I don't feel sad. I don't feel upset even. I feel...happy? That's one less person between me and the goal of getting back to five. There is so much that I have to overcome in this arena, but now Troy isn't one of them.

But I can't let the others see my relief. So I'll sit here and I'll frown with them as we mourn our dead friend. Slowly, though, I think they'll all start to see the realization that I have seen.

"We better move so they can grab his body," says Athena as she walks over to Rowena and grabs her hand. Rowena does a weird thing where she does a cross over Troy's face, and she gets up and walks with us.

As the hovercraft comes to pick up the corpse we sit there in awe as we watch the once living young man disappear into a cold ship.

* * *

 _Soft was never your forte_

 _Like a thunder cloud erupting over my head_

 _Your voice rings loudly_

 _Shaking these bones_

 _Reminding me that no matter how hard I try_

 _I am never alone_

* * *

 **Douglas Waters, 17**

 **District 12 Male**

The cold is running rampant throughout the camp. We got two sleeping bags from the bloodbath, and we were taking turns switching in and out of them, but we finally decided that since Asami is gone, and there are only four of us, two people can share one sleeping bag. It'll at least be warmer that way.

Zebedee and Savannah are lying in one bag while Fir and I are in the next. You can tell that she is severely uncomfortable, but she isn't saying anything because there really isn't anything to say that doesn't sound selfish.

"Fir, you know I'm gay right?" I say bluntly. I see her face relax as the words come out of my mouth.

"Are you now?" she says curiously.

"I am."

I try not to let things like that define me. My sexuality is something that is a part of me, but it is in no way something that I take my full identity in. Not to mention the fact that people hear the word gay and they automatically see the super flamboyant teenage boy. That's not me. I don't hide my sexuality. I don't broadcast it either.

"Why are you telling me this?" she asks interestedly.

"You were nervous about sharing a sleeping bag with me," I say calmly. "I wanted you to know you have nothing to worry about.

I feel her body relax as she allows herself to move a little closer to me. It's nice because the warmth that we are giving each other is really great compared to our situation right now.

"Do you think that it will be this cold when the sun comes out?" ask Savannah eagerly hoping that we say no, but honestly I don't have any earthly idea. The games this year are different. They're different from the ways that we all got here, to this whacked out the arena that we are in. There is clearly something greater in the works than just a normal Hunger Games.

"Do you hear that?" ask Zebedee.

"Hear what?" ask Fir as we all get quiet to hear what Zebedee was hearing.

A low beeping sound fills my ears as I look up in the sky and see a giant box falling down from it. It lands with a soft thud in the snow and we run towards it. On top of the box is a giant 12. They look at me a little disappointed, but happy for me at the same time.

"So what is it?" ask Fir eagerly.

I pop the lid and see a bunch of jackets with our District numbers on them. Savannah jumps up and down excitedly as she starts to dance around the group. "I was praying for this!" she says happily as she starts whispering to herself and closing her eyes.

After about five minutes she opens her eyes and we hand her the jacket with a giant 10 on it. She puts it on, and you can see the relief flood her face as the warm fir from the jacket radiates heat onto her. She's the skinniest of all of us, so she clearly has had a really hard time during this weather.

"This is the greatest feeling I've ever felt." she says happily as she climbs into the sleeping bag and smiles at us.

"What do you mean you were praying for this?" ask Zebedee curiously. "How do you even pray?"

"I mean, you just kind of close your eyes and..well..you talk. Sometimes you listen. Other times you just sit and feel at peace. But when it started getting cold I remember I looked up and I said 'God, I know this is a lot to ask, but can we do something about the cold?' and I never imagined him giving us this, but this is amazing!"

At the bottom of the crate, there is a little white piece of folded up paper. I pick it up and unfold it, and on the paper is a note.

 _We're sorry that she is dead. They said to expect more cold weather, so enjoy those jackets._

 _Also, know that there are eyes everywhere Douglas._

What the hell is that supposed to mean?

"What does it say?" ask Savannah smiling.

I crumple the note and put it in my pocket. "It just tells us to enjoy the jackets," I say as I climb back into the sleeping bag with Fir.

 **The new Pokemon game came out on Thursday, and I started writing this chapter, but then I thought, "Eh, but it's Pokemon." So I played until I beat it and I updated today! I know we didn't hear from the sevens, but we won't hear from every alliance every chapter.**

 **300 REVIEWS?! What the heck everyone thanks so much. Also, I did write Miles POV lyrics last time. I did it again in this chapter. Can you guess which one? :)**

 **1\. What do you think of the arena?**

 **2\. Any predictions on the next terrain?**

 **3\. Who are you digging right now as far as tributes go?**

 ***Side note: At the guest reviewer who ships me and Jenna, you're a little behind on the times. We've been together for a while friend. :D**

 **Eulogies**

 **19th- Troy Jenkins, District 6 Male, ate acidic berries:** **Well, Jayman, Troy didn't die in the bloodbath. It's nothing personal honestly. His form was a bit bare, and I just didn't know where to go with him from there to be quite honest. I appreciate you always submitting to my story. Maybe one day we can get one that goes a little farther bud!**

 **Lastly, there will be a new poll on my profile about 5 minutes after we post this. Please go vote. I might already have my final five, but it could impact who wins.**

 **Keep it classy,**

 **Caleb**


	25. Day 2

_My true intentions were never actually clear_

 _Was it that I wanted you?_

 _Did I need to disappear?_

* * *

 **Eve Sumac, 18**

 **District 7 Female**

I'm in a difficult situation. I really want to get out of here alive. I don't think that's a secret from anyone of us that are in this arena, but I don't want to have to do something that makes me hate myself.

You have to be hard in prison. If you aren't hard in prison you become somebody's lapdog. I was never going to be someone's lap dog. The problem with that, though, is after you're out of prison you look at everything and you realize just how much you forgot about the real world. Like that, there are people here that are genuinely good. That they aren't always out to get you.

But in something like the Hunger Games you realize you can't have those thoughts. That even though the person that is doing so much for you is the nicest person you've ever met you can't save him. That in order for you to get your happily ever after, he has to get his tragedy.

It's funny, I traded one life sentence for another. It's been two days and one and a half nights of being in this place. This is just like prison, but it's sneaky. It gives us the illusion of being able to roam freely. To do what we want. To do what we need to survive. Little do we realize as these games progress, that we are just an entertainment for a people that are far too lost to ever be found again.

The ground begins to shake, and I once again am alarmed. I watch as the snow that was once so heavily slathered on the ground disappear before my eyes without a real reason why. Where Christmas trees were once erect and scattered around, instead, there is what looks to be tombstones in their place. The giant mountain is replaced, and I also notice that the fire pillar that gives the arena light is no longer lit. Artificial stars shine over my head, and an announcement comes over the speakers.

"Tributes, welcome to the graveyard!" says a voice entirely to cheery. "Don't worry none of you are dead...yet." says the voice mockingly. What a bitch. "Would it not be a quell without some sort of exciting event happening? Would it be the Capitol if we didn't have some sort of pizzazz and sparkle? Due to this being our first Quarter Quell, we decided to make things interesting."

We see the original boy from District 9 flash up in the night sky. Followed by the District 8 girl, and the boys from 1, 11, and 8. Followed by the girl from 8 and the boy from 6. Side by side they sit in the sky looking down. It's weird to think how just two days ago these people were with us on this earth.

"Above your head, you see the original seven tributes that are dead." says the voice over the speaker. "Well, they're coming back to play, but a little different this time!"

We watch as the faces of the dead tributes begin to change. The boy from 1 turns into a zombie looking thing, while the two from 8 grow fangs and look really pale. The boy from 9 has rotted hair all over his body and a sickening set of teeth, and the boys from 11 and 6 turn into a mixture of a sea-monster and an eagle.

"The hell is that?!" ask Aspen as he points to the sky.

"Did you seriously sleep through that booming voice?!" I ask concerned.

"I'm a heavy sleeper." he says plainly.

"We will not switch phases on this arena until two of your are gone. Goodluck tributes!" says the voice. "May the odds be _ever_ in your favor."

"So it's a graveyard now?" ask Aspen confused looking at the ground.

I hear movement on the side of us, and on the other side of the tombstone is the boy from District 1 limping towards us. He is dragging his leg, and his intestines are spilling out. He doesn't make any noise or even grunts. He just quietly limps towards us.

I'm the first one to grab the bags and begin a beeline away from this area. Aspen is quick to follow, and I think we're doing okay in our escape until I glance around and see the District 1 tribute sprinting after us.

"What the hell happened to his limp!?" I scream as I scramble past a tombstone.

Before I can wrap my head around where to go I feel a big pair of hands grab onto my backpack and shove me down. I look up in horror to see the boy from District 1 sitting over me. He smiles with his rotting teeth as he bends down towards my neck.

 _Fucking great, Eve! You're going to turn into a fucking zombie! What a way to go out!_

I close my eyes and wait, but the impact of a bite never comes. Instead, I hear a small grunt, and the body on top of me go limp. When I open my eyes I see Aspen trying to throw the zombie body off of me, and the boy from 1 has a knife in his head.

I stand up and begin to dust myself off as I look at Aspen in the eyes.

"You didn't have to do that," I say

"We're allies," he replies as he pulls the knife out of the zombies head and turns back to me. "You'd do the same for me."

I can't honestly say that I would.

* * *

 _But if you look hard enough_

 _You'll see a light_

 _Shining through the dark_

 _Making wrong things right_

* * *

 **Sailor Atkinson, 18**

 **District 4 Female**

Is now a bad time to mention that I'm absolutely petrified of monsters? This game has a way of using everything you hate and making it something you have to face head on. I never even wanted to be here, and now I'm probably going to die because a vampire drinks all my blood.

"At least it's a pretty night." says Emerald trying to smile.

I can't help but chuckle. She's so optimistic it's almost sickening, but at this moment in time, I actually appreciate it. Rylan has seemed cool and calm the whole time of this event and I have no idea how she's keeping her cool. The pair from 9, who I'm already starting to get weird vibes from are constantly whispering about something. I briefly heard a bit of it before we went to sleep tonight. Something about her being impatient and him saying it's only a matter of time.

We hear a wolf howl that snaps me back into reality. Rylan's once calm and collected face turns into a frightened one, and very quickly the pair from 9 are searching for something to jump out. We hurry into the cornucopia, which is really cold now that the fire pillar is off, and we huddle in the back to make a game plan.

"I really wish they didn't turn off the wick." says Emerald as she checks over her shoulder again to see if our wolf friend has made an appearance.

"Two people are dying tonight," says Rylan matter of factly. "It's not a matter of if, but a matter of when. We are trained enough to where we shouldn't have to worry, but we can't slip up at all-"

"How sweet." says a feminine voice with a Transylvanian accent. "You cornered my dinner all into one location," she says with a terrifying grin.

I feel my heart start to beat faster as I see the girl from District 8 standing in the entryway to the cornucopia. She looks almost the exact same other than the fact she is deathly pale. She is dressed in her tribute uniform which makes this all the more creepy.

"Where's your friend?" ask Rylan

"Miles is a bit..tied up now," she says with a wink. "No worries, though, I'm here to play. But I don't really want to work for my food," she says with a pout as she looks at us each individually. "Can two of you just give up and allow me to eat you?" she says hopefully.

"All in favor?" I ask trying to sound confident, when in all actually my heart is beating faster than fat kids who just tried to run a marathon.

"I can hear your heart, 4," she says. She claps her hand super quickly to show everyone how fast mine is beating. "You're the weak link."

"I am not."

"YOU ARE!" she says as she throws her arms up and makes a beeline for the group. We scatter, and at first, she tries to grab me, and I barely make it out her way before she turns around and sees all of leaving the cornucopia.

"You guys clearly don't know the meaning of not wanting to work for your food!" she screams as she turns into a bat and flies towards us.

"I did not sign up for this!" screams Rylan as she is rapidly looking for the bat.

For a second, we think Rylan leaves and is giving up on trying to kill us. A few seconds later though I hear a high pitched screech and see her zooming right at me. I take my bag that I had on my back and swing it at her like a baseball bat. She flies off and turns into a full human again. She's huddled face down on the ground, and we aren't sure what to do from here.

"Is she dead?" I ask as none of us have moved at all.

"Nose goes!" says Kara as she throws her finger on her nose. We look around and Robert is the only one that hasn't touched his nose. He looks at Kara and she nods as he clears his throat and walks towards the girl from District 8.

When he gets close enough to see if she's dead, the girl from 8 lifts her head to reveal eyes that are no longer normal colored. Instead, a pure red eye that almost glows in the dark is all we see as she lunges forward and begins to drain Robert of his blood. Kara runs at the girl and shoves a machete into her back. The girl from 8 drops Robert and then falls to the ground. As she lies there motionless her body begins to get veiny, and slowly her youth drains as she crumbles to dust on the ground.

"Robert!" screams Kara as she throws herself on the ground next to him. "Robert hangs on," she says as tears start to well up in her eyes.

I notice him reach into his pocket and pull out a piece of paper to pass it to Kara. It takes her a second to notice, but she takes it and slides it under her legs without directly looking at it. Rylan and Emerald seemed to not notice because Kara has continued to cry.

Something is going on.

Robert's cannon rings and Kara wails.

* * *

 _Sing to me the song of the stars_

 _Of your galaxies dancing,_

 _And laughing and laughing again._

* * *

 **Pine Heart, 17**

 **District 5 Male**

This graveyard phase is altogether brilliant, but at the same time scary as hell. We heard one cannon go off, and I won't lie, there was a huge relief off my chest because that's one less opportunity for me to die tonight.

Our strategy for this phase is just to keep moving. We have been very careful as we walk to not make noise, but you can really only be so quiet when you're carrying a crap load of supplies.

Curie walks next to me in the group. She has a big pot in her arms and a bag on her back. She is walking slower, and I don't know if it's because she's tired or she's up to something. She notices that I am watching and she instantly speeds up to stand at my side.

"What's going on?" I ask as I watch the others disappear in front of us.

"I-I just can't do this anymore, Pine," she says sadly. The moonlight is fierce and you can see every detail of her face as she has tears welling up in her eyes. "This is too hard," she explains. "I care for each of you, and that's not something that I was prepared for coming into this game. I need to leave, I need to focus on getting out of this arena alive."

"You can't leave," I respond immediately. I don't know why I am so sad that she is planning on leaving, but I would hate to go through this without her. "Please, Curie." I say, "I need you to get through this. I need you to keep me grounded right now."

"In a game of life or death can you ever really be grounded?" she replies.

This isn't fair. She can't just do this. She can't just come in here, and be my comfort and then walk out. I can't help the tears that are welling up in my eyes. I know for a fact that if she leaves right now I will never see her again unless her face shines in the night sky.

"Curie," I say. "Please,"

She opens her mouth to respond when a scream fills the arena. We recognize it instantly as Athena and sprint over to where the others were headed. We end up at a huge hill, and again we hear Athena scream.

"It sounds like it's coming from the top." says Curie as she begins to run with me quickly following.

When we get to the top we see the boy from District 9, or what used to be the boy from District 9, covered in fur, almost as if he was a werewolf. The two members of our group are spread out like a line with the wolf boy in the dead center. He keeps edging closer to each corner of where our allies are to see if they'll be an easy target. When Curie and I arrive we place ourselves next to Athena and ready ourselves for a fight.

The wolf looks around and sniffs the in the middle of the triangle and then sits down. It slowly moves it's head back and forth between all three potential targets. He stops looking at Athena, Curie, and I after awhile so I assume that we are off his radar. However, he isn't really considering going for Rowena with that ax she has in her hand.

It looks like he's about to just move along when an ax comes flying through the air and lands on his hind leg. He lets out a loud yelp as he turns to see where the ax came from. Rowena stands at the edge of her circle in a throwing stance. When the wolf sees she is not motionless he sprints towards her and jumps at her. She is able to sidestep last minute with nothing but a gash on her thigh when he turns around and lunges again.

I run over to where the are and tackle the wolf as he is in mid leap. He kicks me off and continues to run towards Rowena. I think he's programmed to go after whoever attacks him first. As his attacks don't relent he continues to weaken Rowena, and no matter how much any of us do to stop the wolf it always gets back up.

Rowena is able to grab the ax she originally threw off the ground and turns around and slams it into the wolf's side last second, but instead of falling over in pain, he gets bigger. He is about the size of a small horse when he jumps on Rowena, this time succeeding in his mission. Before any of us are able to help her she screams at the top of her lungs.

"RUN! ONE OF YOU WIN!"

Her cannon sounds and the wolf runs away. The pillar of fire that seems to control the arena snaps back on and quickly the arena starts melting before out eyes. It's not an instantaneous melt, but more like a slow and steady.

When the wolf is gone we all run over to where our friend is. Her mangled corpse lies on the ground chewed and bloodied. We all shed a tear for our fallen friend. I look over at Curie and mouth the word "Please."

She nods her head and grips Athena in a tight hug.

* * *

 _Strength like raging waters_

 _Power like the sun_

 _Mere mortals come and beg for me to do the things they don't_

 _If being a God was easy_

 _They'd give it out for free_

* * *

 **Saxum Flavus, 18**

 **District 2 Male**

"Tributes, congratulations to those of you who survived our first candle deathmatch!" says the voice overhead. "Honestly, it was rough seeing two of you go, but this is the Hunger Games after all. Good luck with the rest of your journey, and may the odds be ever in your favor!"

The voice clicks off and we are back with the dead silence of the arena. I must say that I'm sad to see the mutts go. I was really looking forward to actually getting to kill something today. All I've been doing since the bloodbath is wait for something to happen. What kind of a God is god is that?

"Saxum, what seems to be bothering you?" ask Vinton skeptically.

The minute that the numbers dwindle this guy is dead. So is Andrew for that matter. These are two freaks that I would never be caught dead with at my training academy.

"I'm just a little bummed we didn't have any excitement," I say. "I'm getting antsy just sitting here and waiting for something to happen."

Vinton nods his head as she looks around the arena, and then looks like an idea clicks in his head. I can already tell this mortal is going to push me into aggravation, but I mustn't allow my temper to goi the best of me. Not just yet.

"Well, let's go hunting then," he says

"Yeah!" says Andrew. "Let's! The Capitol probably thinks we suck!"

The Capitol could never see me as sucking. I was the star of the show on interview night. Of course, I haven't told anyone about my gifts and abilities if you would, but I didn't have to to get them to like me. They think I'm just damn amazing, and this is honestly how it should always be.

"Okay." I say "What do we do when the arena switches, though?"

The two boys look at me confused. You can tell they don't have any idea what I'm asking so I make sure to say it really slow so their mortal minds can wrap their ideas around mine and feel included in the decision-making process.

"Look, something crazy is bound to happen next. We have to be prepared for everything this arena throws at. For all, we know the next arena could be a volcano or something stupid like that."

I watch as their idiot's brains click on as they understand the situation as a whole. They begin to nod their heads and explain their inferior ideas to that of my own, and finally, I have enough of listening to them speak.

"Look, we need some sort of go plan so we can make sure we get all of the sponsors we need," I say. "They like me because I'm essentially a god, and you two are with me, so all you have to do is be cool."

"How are you a god again?" ask Andrew confused.

I still haven't told them that I don't feel pain. I also don't plan on telling them. There is power in secrecy, and as long as they are concerned with knowing what it is, I stay relevant enough for them to want to continue to try and get on my good side.

"I'm not telling you," I said bluntly. "It's already been talked about.

They both nod and decided that it is best to keep near the pond. We don't know how long it will take for this phase to wash off, but something tells us when we get the new terrain it will be something super sunny. With sunny comes heat, and even a god can get dehydrated. The water source has always stayed in the same area.

"So what are we hunting first?" ask Andrew excitedly

"Well, Vinton's district partner of course," I say. "A promise is a promise."

Vinton smiles with glee, and I'm glad I could provide that for him. After all, a god wants nothing more than to please the people who support them. When it comes time for him to die, I'm sure he will remember this and go down willingly serving me.

"Excellent," he says with a twisted smile. "Move out."

 **Hi guys. I'm sorry this is so late. School has been killing me because we have been getting ready for finals. This one class in particular had a test this week that I just took today. (Got a B!) *I'm also exhausted so sorry if this sucks…***

 **Eulogies**

18th Place: Gregory Smythe, District 9 Male, Killed by Vampire mutt- Oh Greg. You were such a last minute idea. But you served your purpose. You were merely here to help Gretchen along, and not do anything else tbh. Sorry I created you just to go out this way.

17th Place: Rowena Birch, District 6 Female, Killed by Wolf Mutt- Misty I'm sorry I killed her. She was a good character, I just wasn't quite sure where to go from here. None of these characters are bad, so it really just comes down to future storylines and how well they fit my ideas. Rowena was someone that it was always a little hard for me to write for. She will be missed.

 **What did you think of this chapter? Sad to see anyone go? Let me know in the comments!**

 **Keep it classy,**

 **Caleb**


	26. Day 3

_Have a secret_

 _Can you keep it_

 _Swear this one you'll save_

 _Better lock it in your pocket_

 _Taking this one to the grave_

* * *

 **Gretchen Creek "Kara Castille", 16**

 **District 9 Female**

I've never experienced a more stressful mission in my entire existence. One thing is sure, though, that this was no ordinary mission. Gregory's letter sits in my hands as I've reread it over and over again. I'm sitting watch at the cornucopia, and with the fire pillar on, it's made reading a lot easier. I trace over the letters of the writing. It's the last piece I have of him. It haunts me that he'd be alive if it wasn't for a stupid game of nose goes.

 _Gretch,_

 _If you're reading this something went horribly wrong. One thing is certain, though. Trust no one in the agency. We aren't sure what the Bureau has cooked up, but it's something big. I'm sorry that I'm no longer here to help you. I know that you can achieve this though (and if anyone reads this next part I'll deny it indefinitely), but you were the best the agency has ever seen. Even if you have to kill your way out of this arena, I need you to do it._

 _You were rigged into the reapings. We checked the District 9 citizen list and there was no mention of a Gretchen Creek or even Kara Castille. Nine was big enough for no one to recognize you and not ask questions, but this was an inside job._

 _Your plan is simple. Day 4 is all you have to make it too. Day 4 the arena will change into a beach. You'll swim out to sea when the signal is given, (you'll know), and you'll fake drown. We'll have an agency member there to retrieve you, and from there you'll get out of the arena._

 _Lastly, as I wrote this as a just in case I died insurance policy, please don't remember me as the jerk that competed with you. The times we shared in the academy were some of the best I've ever had. I found love and I was stupid and threw it away. You're going to make some man very happy one day._

 _Unfortunately, that man is not me._

 _I love you Gretch. Always did and always will._

 _Faithfully yours,_

 _Gregory M. Smythe_

 _P.S. Also remember I still scored better on the final test in the academy. It's important because, well, I never expected to beat you._

"What's that?"

I jump. I didn't notice anyone walking around the cornucopia, and I certainly didn't hear anything. Sailor stands at the edge of the cornucopia about 10 feet away. Her eyes look ablaze with curiosity as I fold the letter up quickly and shove it in my back pocket.

"What's what?" I ask confused trying to shove it off. I add a light giggle and try and walk past her. She holds her hand out and blocks me from moving. I'm surprised not because someone is trying to start a fight with me, but because it is Sailor. Sailor has been mostly chill throughout the whole process of the games, so seeing her become the career I knew deep down she was is making all of this real.

"That note you just put away," she says indicating to my pocket. "I saw Robert hand it off to you before he died. I want to know what it is."

I look at her surprised. This girl is just full of the surprises today. That's absolutely none of her business. Mark my words she will never know what is in this letter. She will have to pry it from my cold dead hands, and from that point, it will be too late.

"That's none of your concern now is it?" I ask her leading. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to sleep."

Again I try to walk past her and she holds out her arm to block me. I grab it and try to shove it down, but the girl is stronger than she looks. I scoot back because I don't want to have to kill her if I don't have to, and look at her accusingly.

"Is there something else?"

"I don't know who you are," she says indefinitely. "I don't know your story, I don't know your past, but I do know that who you say you are right now isn't true. I'm a little concerned how a girl from District 9 is able to do all of the things you're able to do. That isn't just luck. I'm watching you, Kara. Don't forget that."

She tries to walk past me, but this time it was my turn to block her with my arm. She gives me a death glare as she pushes me in the stomach to get by, but I don't budge. She falls back to where she was and looks at me with a sarcastic smile.

"Yes, Kara?" she asks.

"I'm not one you want to mess with," I say blatantly. "Mess with me, and it'll be the last thing you do."

She leans in close to my face and smiles. "Bring it on," she says eagerly.

I roll my eyes and walk back into the cornucopia where the others are sleeping. I take the letter out and feel the texture of the paper. Knowing that Gregory had touched this was so comforting especially at this time. For the first time since this whole tragic event happened, I allow myself to cry. In the darkness of the cornucopia, I let the hot tears drip down my face.

"I'm so sorry, Greg," I whisper into the fur jacket I'm using as a pillow.

* * *

 _When you speak,_

 _Mountains rise and fall_

 _You tear down every wall_

 _Around me_

 _Let there be light_

* * *

 **Savannah Sage, 15**

 **District 10 Female**

Praying has been the only thing that has been keeping me going during my time in the arena. The alliance I have is great, and though I'd never turn on them, I know for a fact that they will all eventually turn on me.

These games were not meant for people with morals. Good people don't win the Hunger Games. I know for a fact, that eventually during my time in the arena I will die, but that does not prove their point there is no God. Because there has been so much evidence to prove there _is_ one in this game alone! I'm excited, and surprisingly at peace about it. I'll be with my Grandma and Jesus soon.

A perfect homecoming.

"I'm still in disbelief that we didn't encounter one of the mutts," says Fir. We decided to all stay up for the rest of the night just in case something else were to happen. We aren't too worried about tributes hunting because we imagine they did the same.

"Yeah, definitely a lucky break. Maybe we have fans in the Capitol," says Zebedee.

Past our little group the sun is peaking up over the graveyard. It's hopeful really. Even in the darkest night His light shines through and makes things new. This once graveyard that was once supposed to be spooky is simply, well, not anymore.

The ground again begins to shake and we see the tombstones disappearing as the fire pillar is burning with an intense flame. Where the tombstones once lied, tall skyscrapers are beginning to build in their place. There are little yellow cars everywhere, and there is a big sign on the triangular shaped building in the middle of the other skyscrapers.

"Where are we now?" ask Douglas intrigued.

"I don't know." I say, "but this is incredible."

For as big as this city like arena looks we are the only people in it. At least that I know of. We begin to walk down the long pathway. We see signs for something called a musical. We see stands full of magazines called " _People"_ and " _Time"._ When we get to another stand it's full of newspapers. I hope over the stand and pick one of them up in hopes that it'll give some insight as to what this place is.

"It says it's New York City?" I say confused. "Where is that?"

"It's from the dark days," says Zebedee as he frowns and takes the paper. He scans the paper and nods to himself as he is taking all of the information in. He sets the paper back down and looks at all of us concerned. We might not know what is in the forest or a graveyard, but they aren't as foreign to us as the dark days. This has the potential to be really messy really quick.

"I think the important thing is just staying hidden and away from others," says Fir as she looks around at us seeking approval. We all nod in agreement, but that's what we've been doing the whole time. To be honest, the amount of alleyways and different buildings to hide in makes it that much easier, but also harder. We never know what's behind a closed door, through a dark corridor. We could be walking into a death match for all we know right now.

"Well, odds of someone finding us are less likely if we are hidden in one of these buildings," I say as I start strolling back towards the triangular shaped building. When I get to the door I knock on it, and the rest of the people look at me like I'm crazy.

"This could be someone's home!" I say in defense as Zebedee rolls his eyes and pushes past me. He pushes the door and we walk into a very office feeling of a building. There are stairs and elevators, but what we find on the ground floor seems to suffice enough to let us stay here for a while.

"We can make this work until the phase change." says Fir excitedly.

"Yes, we can make this work," says Douglas as he walks over to a drinking fountain on the wall. He pushes the button down and clears and clean water falls out of the mouthpiece. We all jump around excited, but then something in the corner catches my eye.

A tiny machine comes floating next to us. It has an animated face, and when it sees us it smiles.

"Hi! My name is Dekka! Welcome to my home. I assume you're some of the tributes I've heard so much about. Let's see." it shines a light on our faces and then smiles again. "Hello, Savannah, Douglas, Fir, and Zebedee. As you guys aren't careers I must warn you to run upstairs. Both groups are running towards this building right now."

As Dekka says that we hear the arguments from both of the career groups that formed, and sprint towards the stairs to get out of the way.

* * *

 _I live for the applause, applause, applause_

 _I live for the applause-plause, live for the applause-plause_

 _Live for the way that you cheer and scream for me_

 _The applause, applause, applause_

* * *

 **Andrew Coubisou, 17**

 **District 4 Male**

These absolute morons thought they could just undermine us and try and take our turf, and now these buttcheeks excuse of tributes are going to die. I'm ready for this fight, I've actually needed this fight! I've wanted to knock that Shores down a few pegs ever since his daughter entered into my arena time.

"We don't have to do this now," says Emerald. "Let's wait until all of the outer Districts are squashed out, and then we can fight like real careers."

"Hell to the absolute no on that one, Chuckles," I say firmly as I yank my speak from the holder. I line the aim up with Sailor's head when this tiny machine whizzes in the middle of our fight. It's a small red contraption with an animated face. It smiles when it sees all of us standing here.

"Hi, my name is Dekka!" it says excitedly. "I'm so happy to have company!"

"You won't have it for long," says Saxum. "Some of the company is about to have a hard and imminent reality check.

Dekka looks back and forth at both our groups, and we see the once smile on her, or its face, turn into a face of shock. It shows it's two dotted eyes and a capital O for the jaw drop.

"Oh my gosh. You're going to fight," she says sadly.

"Well, yes, that's how these things go." says Vinton with an uneasy smile about him.

Dekka magically grows a pair of eyebrows and turns into an angry face. She looks back and forth at us and then shines a light on our face. We freak out, and after it shines on every single one of us we realize that it just scanned us.

"I like the careers. You guys are fun. So I'm not allowing the killing of each other just yet." Dekka says matter of factly.

"With all due respect, Deks," I say with my trident still poised at Sailor's head. "You really don't have a say."

"Oh please, the only thing you know how to do with that is to hold it." says Sailor with an eye roll.

"QUIET!" screams Dekka. "Now, I'm mad. You're going to have a competition for me."

This is stupid. I don't know who this little machine thinks it is, but it certainly isn't the boss of me. I take my trident and hurl it at Sailor's head. She looks absolutely shocked by it, but instead of making the impact with her face, Dekka opens up a side compartment of its machine and catches the trident. Sailor looks relieved as Dekka takes it, and sends it into my foot.

"I said no killing each other!" It says angrily as I scream in pain. Saxum and Vinton laugh as I take the trident and pull it out of my foot. This is going to suck.

"Now, this competition is very simple. There is a group of tributes up in my building somewhere," says Dekka as it says loading on its screen. The pair from 10, the girl from 11, and the boy from 12 appear on the screen where Dekka's face usually is. "You will go and find them and kill one of them," it says. "One of them," she says again. "The person who makes the kill and wins for their team I will allow to face off against one person of their choice from the other team."

"Seems fair enough." says Rylan as she watches for our reactions.

"Please, you wouldn't be able to kill them," I say.

"Sorry, Gimpy," says Sailor. "What was that? My hearing is still a little bad from hearing your foot get impaled."

I shoot her the finger and turn to my team and they both nod in agreement. "Okay." I say, "We'll take the deal." I say excitedly.

"Oh good!" says Dekka. "On your mark, get set, go!"

We all run towards the door and when we get inside we see an office building type of an arrangement. We see a backpack on the floor, and we know that they were just here on the ground floor. We smile as we run towards the stairs, followed quickly by the group of losers that is trying to beat us.

"You might as well just give up!" screams Vinton "This is ours!"

"I'm killing you when I win!" screams Rylan as she pushes past us and runs towards the second floor.

* * *

 _One way or another_

 _I'm gonna get you_

 _I'm gonna get you, get you, get you, get you_

* * *

 **Douglas Waters, 17**

 **District 12 Male**

I've never run that many stairs in my life. I'm a fairly fit guy, but sprinting seven flights of stairs is not easy for anyone.

When we arrived at the seventh floor we made found a closed off janitor's closet that we thought would be a good place to hide. We suspected them of looking through all of the offices. The only thing about this space is it's really crammed.

"That was nice of Dekka to warn us." Savannah was saying in between breaths. She was struggling really bad on the stairs. I open up my mouth to comment back when we hear glass breaking and two people screaming. Both male and female.

"How the hell did they get up here so quick?!" ask Fir as she cracks the door slightly to see who we are going up against. She closes the door after she gets a glimpse of the tributes that are up here and sits against the door with her eyes closed.

"It's the girl from 1 and the boy from 4," she says as she has tears welling up in her eyes. Savannah takes her hand and puts it on her leg to comfort her.

"We'll be okay," says Savannah

We hear the girl from 1 scream as she leaves the floor to let her alliance know that she didn't find anyone, but we still hear the boy from 4 rummaging around. We hear him getting closer and we each start to find things in the closet that would serve as a decent weapon to help at least some of us get away from the boy from 4.

We stand with a broom, a bucket, a spray that we can spray on his face, and our fist. After about three minutes we hear the door knob jiggle, and Douglas runs and blocks the door from being opened. The boy from four laughs as he has found what he is looking for and begins to push the door open. We all begin to fight back and we are at a standstill.

"I'll tell you what. In about five seconds, I'm sending my trident through the door in a random spot. Whoever it hits is fine." he says as we aren't budging from the door. We hear him get away from the door, and he begins to count down. "5. 4. 3. 2. 1."

The trident comes slamming into the door and we hear a cannon. I look around and see Savannah and Zebedee still standing while Fir is on the ground. She has a lot of blood falling from her head and her eyes are glazed over.

"Sounds like I got what I needed. Since I'm not allowed to kill more than one of you, I'll see you guys later!" he says excitedly as he runs down the hall and down the stairs screaming he won.

* * *

 _There's no other place but first._

 _Second through third is only a joke_

 _I've got gold running through my veins_

 _Always on point never making a mistake_

* * *

 **Andrew Coubisou, 17**

 **District 4 Male**

"I WON!" I scream as I run throughout the stairwell. My voice echoes loudly throughout the stairs as I jump down several flights of stairs at a time. "I'm the winner! All you other people suck!"

"Tributes this is Dekka!" says a voice over the loudspeaker. "Please make your way to the bottom floor."

I rush down the last few flights of stairs, and one by one the other team and my own team arrive looking defeated. The people from the other team prepare themselves as they know that one of them is about to fight.

"Hi tributes!" says Dekka back with a smile on its screen. It sounds excited to be back and floats in the middle of the group again. "Thank you for following my rules and only killing one of them. I can now confirm that the girl from District 11 is currently dead on the floor in the janitor's closet on the seventh floor," it says matter of factly. "Come on in guys!" says Dekka.

One by one the rest of the girl from 11's alliance comes out from the staircase. The girl from 10's face is bright red like she's been crying, and they make a beeline for the door.

"Sorry I tricked you guys!" says Dekka as they leave the building and we watch them run away through the windows. "Now for you guys!" it says. "Since Andrew won, you get to choose who you want to face off against the other team! Choose wisely. This is a fight to the death!"

I already knew who I was going to fight the moment this deal was proposed. I lift my finger and point it straight at the girl from 2. She kicked me out of the alliance before the games even started, and that's not okay with me.

"Are you sure about your choice?" ask Dekka

"Yes," I say

Dekka begins shining brightly, and before we know it a bright light sweeps throughout the whole room. We are unable to see what's actually going on, and when the light dims, and we can see again, we are in a stadium. We both look at Dekka confused and it just has the same creepy animated smile.

"I'll bring the winner back to the others," it says. "I want to see a good match!"

Rylan grips her sword and readies herself to fight. I take my trident and aim it at her stomach. One shot, one blow, she's done. Dekka has a countdown on its screen, and once it hit zero a loud ding filled the stadium. I was the first to move and attack while Rylan was forced to play defense. As long as I can keep her where she is right now she's bound to mess up eventually.

I jab my trident into her stomach, but she gets the blade of her sword there to block the blow last minute. She then takes the opportunity to swing directly at my head which I'm able to sidestep. I take three giant steps back, and then hurl my trident towards her. It lands in her thigh, and she falls over wincing as she desperately tries to get it out.

I walk over to her smiling as I watch her fumbling on the ground. "This was too easy," I say. "I expected more from a leader," I say as I go and press down on the trident. She screams in pain as I get down on my knees and place my hand around her neck and begin to squeeze. Her eyes pop out of her head as she is struggling to get the breath but can't. As I continue to squeeze I watch as the life drains from her eyes, and then a sharp pain goes into my neck.

I release my grip and she takes giant gulps of breath as I fall to the ground and feel the knife as it sticks out of my neck. She is coughing as I gasp for the oxygen that is never going to enter my lungs again. I begin to feel the blood fill my lungs, and a sense of drowning falls over me.

"That was too easy," she says after she catches her break and removes the trident from her leg. "I expected more from someone who was so cocky." She smiles as she just sits there and watches me die.

I lift my hand into the air and stick my middle finger up as I feel the life drain out of my body.

 _I was going to win…_

 **Well, that was day 3! I really enjoyed this chapter, and I hope that you liked it too!**

 **Eulogies**

 **16th Place: Fir Ascia, District 11 Female, Stabbed in the head by Andrew Coubisou- Fir was a good tribute, but she was also one I was never quite sure what to do with. I loved all of my submissions so much, and they all fell into significant storylines fairly easy. However, with Fir, it was more of a constant battle for me to figure out ways to keep her relevant. Her popularity kept her alive briefly, but I just couldn't keep her around knowing that I didn't know what to do with her. I thought this was a fair way to go, more like a random draw and she got the short end of the stick.**

 **15th Place: Andrew Coubisou, District 4 Male, Stabbed in the neck by Rylan Spain- Okay, so I know this is a shocker, but hear me out. There needed to be some change in the villain alliance. Having three villains in a story, and a pseudo villains in Curie and Eve, was just to much. I started thinking about the ones that I could get rid of without causing a major upset, and unfortunately it was Andrew. He was one of my favorites that I got. He was fun and exciting. I also felt like you, Anna, just kind of disappeared.**

 **What did you think of this chapter? Like the phase, they are in? Shocked at the deaths? Let me know in the reviews. Also, new poll. Vote!**

 **I'd also like to thank the people that review every chapter. You guys are wonderful.**

 **Keep it classy,**

 **Caleb**


	27. Day 3 (Part 2)

_A swan dive into oblivion was always my fate_

 _There is no end game other than the end_

 _There is no peace until it's over_

* * *

 **Athena Mistnyl, 13**

 **District 3 Female**

There are days when you feel like something bad is going to happen. When you are in the Hunger Games those aren't feelings you want to feel. I can't put my finger on it, but I feel that today might be my last day alive in this world.

I've always tinkered with ideas of an afterlife. I'm not sure what I've ever come up with, but it is comforting thinking that I won't just pass on into a nothingness. I will admit though, nothingness sounds peaceful after something like this. I can't remember the last time I slept. I've been going on empty for some time now. The thought of death is almost welcoming.

This city is huge, and every time I turn a corner I think I see Vinton. Curie and Pine are great and are always there to comfort me when I get scared. I'm very grateful for their friendship even though I know it will only be short-lived.

We've been walking a street that almost seems never ending. I don't know much about the dark days, but this looks like it had to be so busy. It reminds me a lot of my home, not the district, but my physical home. Growing up as a mayor's daughter is no easy task. Dad was always doing something, and he was obviously very often in the wrong.

We turn a corner and see a large group of tributes standing around. For a minute I think I see Vinton and my heart stops.

 _Wait. That is Vinton._

I stop dead in my tracks and grab onto Curie's arm. She looks confused as to the sudden halt, but upon further observation, she sees why I was so scared. She and Pine turn around and start running away, but it is too late. A mountain of tributes is following us when we turn our heads to see what is going on. A sudden flash of light fills the area, and 3 of them run back, but we are still being pursued by Vinton and the boy from 2.

"This isn't good. This isn't good," says Curie as her eyes are rapidly scanning the area.

She dashes down an alleyway and Pine and I follow as she and Pine begin to climb a ladder that is connected to a tall building. I begin climbing immediately and when I get to the halfway point I hear maniacal laughter coming from the bottom of the ladder. When I look down I see Vinton and the boy from 2 begin climbing the ladder in great haste.

My heart is pounding as I begin to climb faster and faster up the ladder. When I reach the top Curie and Pine are already looking for ways off the roof when the boy from 2 and Vinton appear.

"My little doll," he says. "You thought you could escape me?" ask Vinton with a sick smile as he grabs me by the arm and throws me down on the ground of the roof.

"You don't touch her!" screams Curie as she runs for Vinton, but Pine grabs her arm and holds her off. He knows that they don't stand a chance against either of them. I'm not mad that they aren't going to help me.

"Grab the girl and let's go, Saxum." says Vinton as the boy from 2 begins to pick me up.

Curie and Pine watch as we begin to descend the ladder. Tears are streaming down Curie's face as she watches me disappear.

"Thank you for being my friend!" I scream before I completely disappear behind the wall of the building,

I never really had friends before, so having had so many in this very nonideal situation was a blessing in disguise. I was always that weird kid that no one wanted to talk to. Even though my friends have passed slowly, and each one of their losses has hurt my heart deeply, I wouldn't trade meeting them for the world.

I decided that I think there is an afterlife. Somewhere you go and find peace. Where everyone you love that is already there and everything you want is within your reach. I imagine running into Rowena's arms and giving her a hug and thanking her for protecting us from the wolf mutt. I can imagine smiling at Troy as we laugh about how only he would die in that way.

"Do I have plans for you, my little doll." says Vinton with an evil tone in his voice.

But first I have to go through pain. Just like my friends did before we get to meet again. Just like all of them had to before they could reach peace. Vinton is the worst form of pain for me. He has had nothing but ill intent for me since the moment we got reaped together back in District 3.

"You aren't scared at all?" ask Vinton as, Saxum I presume, continues to carry me down the ladder. I look at him with a sarcastic smile and spit in his face. He looks angry for a second and then starts laughing as he continues to climb down the iron ladder. "I always liked that you were feisty. Your kill will be my favorite this game."

"You're a creep," I say bitterly as we reach the bottom of the ladder and Saxum has yet to even flinch as he continues to carry me over his shoulder. "Why are you working with him? You can obviously kill him in a matter of seconds."

"A god must keep their promise to mortals," replies Saxum as he follows Vinton. Great, I'm stuck with two whack jobs.

As we walk down the street Vinton walks into the time square and Saxum plants me down in the middle of a park. He grabs some rope from a bag and hogties me so I can't get away. Vinton looks up at the sky with pure glee and says, "You know what to do."

To my horror, four parachutes fall from the sky.

* * *

 _This is my fight song_

 _Take back my life song_

 _Prove I'm alright song_

* * *

 **Rylan Spain, 17**

 **District 2 Female**

A bright light fades as I'm back in front of the building that the rest of my alliance is waiting at. Dekka is floating next to me with a big number one on its screen.

"Rylan won the match!" it says with a jolly tone in its voice.

The gash in my thigh is awful, and it hurts like nothing I've ever felt, but I can't allow myself to show weakness in front of the rest of my tribe. So I walk past them and start down the street. Emerald is the first one of my allies to break the silence and stop me from moving any farther. She giggles as she wraps me in a hug and squeezes tight. I'm not sure what to do, but the hug feels nice so I hug her back.

"I'm glad you survived," she says softly in my ear. "Let me know if you need anything."

I like Emerald, but she's playing a winner's game. She isn't pissing anyone off, and she's moving around this alliance expertly. She's on literally no one's radar, and that's why she has to be officially on mine. I refuse to do all the work in killing these other tributes only to have her overpower me in the last few seconds of the game.

"What happened?" says Sailor as she interrupts the hug with a quick one of her own. She looks down at my thigh and gasp as she quickly throws the backpack she has off her back and onto the ground. She begins looking for bandages and pulls them out to start applying to my leg.

"You guys don't have to be nice to me," I say bluntly as she is doctoring my thigh.

"We know," says Sailor as she is threading a needle to do stitches. "Bite your shirt," she says as she begins to sew the gash adding onto the already in pain feeling I was experiencing, but I know it has to be done. She then takes the bandage and puts it on the gash and smiles. "I'm pretty sure there is medicine on that band-aid that will help heal the wound faster."

"Thanks," I say.

One thing I realized when battling Andrew was we need to get rid of the other two in the male career alliance. I can take on these girls just fine, but I don't know if I have it in me to fight Saxum after a gash like this in my thigh. I look to the girls and open my mouth to speak when I notice something falling from the sky and towards the other side of a giant skyscraper. Four parachutes fall from the sky and I wonder what they're for.

"What the hell are those?" ask Kara confused

We begin walking towards where we saw them land and see the little girl from District three tied up and lying on the floor. She is fooling with the knots, but it's of no use. I've seen those knots before, and let me tell you when Saxum ties knots they don't come out.

I watch as the boy from District 3 goes and opens up a box and have an internal panic attack when I see him pull out a flamethrower. He taunts the little girl from 3, but instead of shooting her with the flames he aims them at the ground and a small puddle begins to form where the cement used to be and I'm reminded once again that we are on a giant candle. He walks over to another box and smiles as he presses a button on it, and a vacuum sound starts to erupt from the tiny device. Reaching over into the next box he pulls out a tube that he connects with the vacuum and finally he pulls out a face mask from the last box. My jaw drops as I realize what he's going to make her do.

"He's going to make her inhale hot wax!" I say horrified.

"I'm fine with literally everyone in this arena dying." says Sailor, "but this is actually sick."

"We need to do something, indeed." says Emerald as she watches with tears welling up.

I take a deep breath and pull my hair back into a ponytail. I look at the other members of my alliance and nod.

"So we're all in agreement?" they nod in unison and begin to take out weapons. "Cool," I say. "Let's go."

We begin to run, well I more gallop, towards the park. We arrive at the area they are at right as he is attaching the face mask to the poor girl's face. She looks so scared with tears pouring down her face as she is looking at the puddle.

"Ladies," says Vinton creepily. "Come to watch the show?"

"More like stop the damn show," I say as the girls pose to fight.

"My doll," says Vinton looking at the little girl. "You're just going to have to wait to fully become my little doll. I have some pest to take care of." He pulls out a katana and Saxum pulls out a spear and we charge into battle.

* * *

 _Let's let the stars watch_

 _Let them stare_

 _Let the wind eavesdrop I don't car_

 _For all that, we've got_

 _Don't let go_

 _Just hold me_

* * *

 **Pine Heart, 17**

 **District 5 Male**

"Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" screams Curie as she pounds on my chest. "We could have stopped them! We could have saved her!" she screams as tears pour down her face. She's not hitting too hard, and I know she's upset, so if she needs this I'll let her do it. "How can you allow this?! How could you stop me?! You were her friend! You said that you loved all of us!"

"I did love Athena!" I say now getting a little angry myself. Who is she to question my loyalties? "Curie we literally had no shot against them! The only thing that would have happened is you and I would have died, and she still would have been taken."

"You didn't love her! You can't justify this!" says Curie angry as she turns around.

"I did too love her!" I say back

"Then why did you stop me?!" she says

"Because I love you more!"

There is an awkward electricity that is flowing in the atmosphere right now. There is no more screaming, no more fighting, just me looking at the back of her head. Curie has yet to turn around and I can't tell her reaction to what I just said. After a few minutes have passed Curie turns around with tears still streaming down her face.

"What did you just say?" she asks.

"I told you I needed you. You've kept me grounded through this whole thing. This might be so out of left field, and it might be completely only because we are about to die, but I do. I think I genuinely do. My dad always said when you know, you know, and I think me-"

I'm interrupted as her lips connect with mine and for a brief moment, I forget that I'm in the games. I forget that I'm most likely going to die, I forget that I'm not trained, I forget that I'll probably never see my family again. For this moment, it's just me and her.

"You talk too much." says Curie with a sly smile when she pulls apart smiling.

I'm about to respond when I notice four parachutes falling from the sky. I see a giant hole in the sky where the hatch opened to let them through and I walk over to the edge to see what is going on.

I see Athena on the ground with her arms and legs in a weird position, probably meaning she's tied up. I see Vinton walking around and opening boxes and connecting random things, and then I see Saxum walking around looking bored. Across the street, the career girls are running towards them with their weapons poised and ready for battle.

"Curie, you're going to want to see this."

She hurries over to the edge and sees Athena and the careers about to square off and I can see her gears turning. She looks at me and smiles and jumps up and down.

"That's it!" she says happily. "We can save her right now!" says Curie as she runs over to the edge and begins climbing down the ladder.

"Wait! What?" I ask confused as I follow her. She stops as she is about five rungs down the ladder and looks up at me.

"They're distracted, now is the time to get her!" she says her face turns somber as she looks up at the sky. "And we might want to hurry, Pine. There's a storm coming."

I look up and see the dark gray clouds starting to form overhead, My heart is pounding as I begin my descent down the ladder and following Curie. After a moment like that, I am glad something good happened. This is way better than just sitting around and waiting for her cannon to sound. At least now she has a chance.

"We're coming Athena," I say. "Just hang in there."

We get to the bottom of the ladder and begin our sprint towards the park. Curie and I weave in between buildings as we watch the careers talk back and forth. This has to be the chattiest group of careers ever in the history of the games, but they are nonetheless intimidating as any of the others in earlier years.

Curie holds up a hand to stop me from moving any further and she begins to weave in between objects in the street. If I didn't know what to look for, I don't even think I'd have seen her. As she is weaving in between everything the career bloodbath begins to start.

* * *

 _See the line where the sky meets the sea?_

 _It's blinding, and no one knows how deep it goes_

 _And it seems like it's calling out to me_

 _So come find me, and then I'll know_

 _And if I go there's just no telling how far I'll go_

* * *

 **Emerald Thunders, 17**

 **District 1 Female**

Absolute chaos is what ensues over the course of this brief conversation. Sailor runs at Saxum full force while Kara goes and takes on Vinton. I watch as both groups are struggling with the other. Vinton isn't all the skilled with his katana, but he's swinging it around so carelessly that it is dangerous to even be near him. That sword isn't exactly dull.

Sailor's advances on Saxum are much more achievable. He's pure offense with no defensive measures. While he keeps swinging at her with an insane amount of stamina odds are he's going to get tired, and if Sailor can keep dodging she's home free.

Rylan appears next to me and I can tell by the look on her face that she wants to join in on the fight but her thigh won't allow her to. I decided to stand watch and help protect her as the other two take on the boys.

Vinton continues swinging his sword randomly, and finally, Kara takes back and then launches her knife at him. With a look of shock on his face, the knife makes the impact with his skull, and he falls to the ground. His cannon sounds and that was enough shock to give Sailor an opening to go for Saxum. With a swift flick of her arm, her trident lodged in his chest, but he didn't even flinch. In fact, the only reason I would even consider that he knew what just happened was because of the look of confusion on his face when he tried to take a breath shortly after the stab.

He looks at Sailor and suddenly gets wobbly. She gives him an apologetic look as he sinks down to his knees.

"You- you c-c-can't kill me. I'm a g-g-go-"

A sharp pain appears on my back and I wince as my breathing suddenly attempts to intensify. I turn around to see Rylan looking at me with sadness in her eyes as I fall to the ground with tears welling up in my eyes.

"W-w-why?" I ask her softly

"I'm playing to win," she says bluntly as she turns around and begins to run away from the park area. She, being surprisingly fast on her bum leg, gets halfway down the street when Sailor and Kara scream and run to comfort me.

"Emerald, it's going to be okay," she says as she pushes my bangs behind my ear. I smile because my whole life I was told that I was going to be okay when people knew I probably wouldn't. Isn't it funny how history repeats itself?

I chuckle to myself as I remember all the memories of my short life. There's something about dying young that is both tragic and humbling all at the same time. The fact of the matter is I'm not young. I grew up a long time ago, at a time where being a kid should have been all I had to worry about. This isn't a young teenager dying. This is a woman who had a second chance at life, and life in all of her mysteries decided that it was time for me to greet death.

"No, I won't," I say calmly in between shallow breaths. I look at both of the girls and smile at them. "You both are so beautiful," I say. "Please, w-w-win."

The vision around my eyesight is getting fuzzy as the world that I once knew starts spinning. Suddenly I'm not in the games anymore, I'm not in a world of sickness or pain, I'm in a peaceful place.

"Emerald stay with us!" says Sailor, but her voice is barely heard as I drift off.

* * *

 _Now and then_

 _Just when you think it won't happen again_

 _Good guys win_

* * *

 **Curie Ling, 15**

 **District 5 Female**

As the girl from District 1's cannon rings, I finally get the knots out of Athena's ropes and we are able to weave in between the same things I did to get to the park. We watch from afar as the girl's from 4 and 9 mourn the loss of their friend, and to be honest I feel nothing.

Maybe it's because I don't know her, or maybe it's because I know she was going to have to die anyway, but looking at her dead corpse on the ground and seeing her friends crying I just feel cold. That scares me.

Even that moment on the roof, normally I'd have been ecstatic, and to be honest, for a brief moment I was. I just can't allow my feelings for these people to get in the way. This is a battle of will at this point. We are almost in the top 10.

Holy shit, we are almost in the top 10.

"Um, excuse me?" whispers a voice behind me.

I turn around and swing my hand right behind me, and my palm makes an impact with someone's cheek. With a loud thud, they fall to the floor. Loud enough for the girls from the career alliance to look up from their dead friend.

The girl from 10 and the boy from 12 stares at me with shock as the boy from 10 is on the ground holding his cheek. I see the girls walking towards the noise trying to see what it is, and they apparently see us because they start moving faster over here. Faster with their weapons.

"One reason why I shouldn't stab you three," I say looking at them. "You have 3 seconds."

"We want to help take out the rest of the careers." says the boy from 12.

"Cool, run!" I say as we get up and sprint away from the girls. They are fast and catching up quick as the girl from 4 throws her hand back and throws her trident at the group of us, the boy from 10, not having the best of luck falls to the ground as the trident goes through his calf. The girl from 10 stops and tries to help him up but he pushes her off of him and tells her to run.

"Z, I can't!" she screams with tears running down her face.

The girls inch closer and the boy from 12 runs over to her and throws her over his shoulder. He then catches up with Athena and me as we weave in and out of several alleyways and meet back where Pine is waiting for us.

"What's going on?" ask Pine confused. Upon seeing Athena he runs and gives her a big hug. Upon seeing the other tribute he looks at me confused.

"I'll explain when we have time, but we have GOT to find a hiding place. The girl from 9 and 4 are closing in."

We look down the street and settle on a building that looks like apartments. We go through the first floor and the cannon sounds for the boy from 10. The girl whimpers as she begins to have a panic attack while over the boy from 12's shoulder. He pats her back as we make our way up the stairs and settle from a room on the third floor.

By the time we get into the room the girl has calmed down a bit and now just sits there motionless with no emotions on her face.

"So…" says the boy from 12 solemnly. "My name is Douglas."

We pause as outside the storm happens full fledge filling the sky with lots of lightning and thunder. We watch as the fire pillar gets larger and larger, and suddenly it dawns on me.

"We're burning our arena."

 **Holy mother freaking heck this was the hardest chapter ever for me.**

 **We've now made it to the top 10 and this was so hard for me to write. Honest, I was sitting here wracking my brain because as I get closer to the end of this story everyone but one of these characters is going to have to die, and it absolutely petrifies me because they're all beautiful characters.**

 **I want to finish this story by Christmas. It doesn't change the death order or the amount of death per chapter, but it will change updating speed.**

 **Eulogies**

 **14th Place: Vinton Malik, District 3 Boy, Killed by Gretchen Creek "Kara Castille"- Holy freaking crap. Vinton was EVERYTHING. He was such a story driver for so many characters and such a fun way for me to tap into a part of me I didn't know existed. I was so happy that I got the opportunity to write for him, and I was so pumped that he was such a hated villain. Cheers to the most twisted dude I know, and thanks for the submission.**

 **13th Place: Saxum Flavus, District 2 Male, Killed by Sailor Atkinson- Damn, Tigress, please don't hate me. I see this a number of ways. After killing Andrew I realized in the story I had that I didn't have to have villains anymore. In a way, all the characters left, give or take Savannah and Athena, are villains in some way. Saxum was great because he was so different, and I LOVED getting to stretch myself and write for him. Thank you so much and I hope you submit again.**

 **12th Place: Emerald Thunders, District 1 Female, Killed by Rylan Spain- RED! I'm so sorry. I will start by saying I HATED Emerald when you sent her. I thought she was so one dimensional and such a fill in character, but I could not have been more wrong. This girl was such a 3D character, and a lot like Vinton she helped hold the story together. Without Emerald there was no career female alliance. I decided to kill Emerald now because I couldn't justify her making it to the end and not winning. She needed to lose now to make room for the character I selected as Victor.**

 **11th Place: Zebedee Barnes, District 10 Male, Killed by Gretchen Creek "Kara Castille", and Sailor Atkinson- Zebedee was good, but he was a filler for Savannah in all honesty. He was great to have for the moment, and he was a nice character to be around and I hope that I did him justice. He was fun to write for, and I hope you submit after this story!**

 ****For the first time in forever a D1 tribute didn't make it into my top 10.****

 **Congrats to the submitters of Rylan, Athena, Sailor, Curie, Pine, Eve, Aspen, Gretchen, Savannah, and Douglas. These are my final 10, and I can't wait to show you the rest of what this story entails.**

 **Next chapter is the feast. Let me know what you think about this chapter.**

 **Keep it classy,**

 **Caleb**


	28. The Feast

_Burn me with fire_

 _Drown me in rain_

 _I'm gonna wake up_

 _Screaming your name_

 _Yes I'm a sinner_

 _Yes I'm a saint_

 _Whatever happens here, we remain_

* * *

 **Sailor Atkinson, 17**

 **District 4 Female**

The wind from the storm comes down hard as Kara and I brace ourselves and protect our faces from the various things flying around us. We struggle to get to a building. We fight the wind and manage to get into one of the tall skyscraper-like buildings, and right as we do the rain starts to pour down.

When I say pour, I mean _pour._

We watch as the bodies of our fallen tributes begin to rise with the water and slowly start to drift away with it. I'm still really choked up about Emerald's death. Wherever Rylan is I hope she's stuck in this storm. That move was so distasteful and hostile. We're careers, but we aren't monsters.

"That could have easily been one of us." says Kara as if reading my thoughts.

"Yeah, it could have," I say. I have begun to feel bad for the way I treated her yesterday. Whatever that note said I'm sure he wrote it before the games. It was very obvious they had a history. Maybe it was a love note.

"Look," I begin, "I-"

"Don't," she says cutting me off. "It's okay. We're in a pressure cooker. I understand."

I'm about to respond when I notice that the inside of my shoe feels wet. When I look down I see water is draining into the room. Outside the glass window, the water has risen and it is halfway up the door. My jaw drops in surprise and admiration all at the same time. How did it fall so quickly? The GameMakers have truly outdone themselves in this game.

The water continues to rise and I watch in horror as it reaches the top of the door. Right, when it does the glass begins to crack, and Kara and I look at each other in fear.

"We need to get high up," she says. "Now!"

We run towards the staircase and right as we reach it the glass breaks and water starts flooding in. We run up the stairs as fast as we can as the water continues to rise quickly after us. After 14 flights of stairs, and us being exhausted, Kara and I collapse on the floor. The water started slowing down around the 10th floor, but we didn't want to risk drowning.

We're breathing heavily as I struggle to get into the backpack to find my canteen. When I finally find it I gulp down half of it and then laugh to myself as I realize the irony.

"How ironic I want the one thing we were running from?" I ask with tears now streaming down my face from laughing so hard. Kara joins in on the laughter when suddenly I feel a puddle surrounding me. I stop laughing instantly as I close my eyes and hope this isn't what I think it is.

"Kara, please tell me you spilled your canteen."

"No. I didn't, why?" she ask me confused still kind of chuckling.

I open my eyes and see the water rising above the stairwell and jump up. We are on the top floor and there is no way to go any higher in this building...unless…

I run over to a window and kick it out. Water begins pouring in, but if this works out Kara and I won't be in here much longer. A package comes and falls from the sky and when I open it, two masks sit in the box. I look at Kara confused and she smiles.

"It's to help breathe underwater. Gear up. It's going to be a bumpy ride." she says as she places it over her own mouth. I do the same and right as I do a huge wave overtakes us. At first, I forget that I can breathe underwater with this mask on, but when I finally couldn't hold my breath anymore, I was able to inhale and exhale normally.

I've always loved the water. It's so unforgiving and so harsh. Always consistent and never differing in what it can do. It's always known it can wipe us out. Sometimes we anger it, and it strikes back, sometimes we make it happy and it's calm. This is one of those moments where I feel the calm yet anger all at the same time.

When my eyes adjust I see Kara swimming out of the window. I follow her, but instead of traveling up, she is swimming down towards the floor. I continue to try and follow her but she's a surprisingly fast swimmer. When she gets to the floor she walks around on the bottom looking around. I'm trying to get there, but before I can I guess she sees what she's looking for and swims over to the area. There is a person in a scuba diving suit waiting for her next to a giant hole. She swims over to the hole and swims in. The mystery person follows after and I hurry to where the hole is. It's closing quickly, and I fear I won't be able to make it, but right as the hole is about to close up I swim through it.

Kara and the person in the scuba diving suit are talking and he's congratulating her on getting through the mission.

"What mission?" I ask confused

They both jump when they see me, and before I have any time to react the man comes over and punches me in the face. Knocked out, and unable to move, I can still hear them talking.

"We need to kill her." says the man.

"Absolutely not!" says Kara. "She can be useful. Let me talk to the directors," she says.

"They won't like this," he says

"And this mess up is on you. The hole should have been closed the second you entered. I'm telling you right now, this girl will not die for your mistake."

"Yes, Agent Creek." says the man

* * *

 **Millicent Hasslebrock, 35**

 **Head GameMaker**

* * *

"Mam, two of the tributes have gone completely off the radar." says one of my assistants as we wait for the beach to get set up. The water is all but finished, and surprisingly, the tributes have fared well against all of my tricks. The five outer districts that are left are standing on top of the tallest building in the arena, the girl from 2 found shelter in an obscure building on the very edge of the arena, She lucked out because that's where the shore was going to be. Anywhere else she'd be dead. The two from seven are standing on a short 15 story building, and you can see the panic on their faces as they are watching the water rise. Lucky for them, the other tributes are coming to them during the feast.

"What two are missing?" I ask concerned.

"The girl from 4 and the girl from 9." responds the assistant as she is pressing various buttons to see angles from different angles. "They were last seen on the top floor of building number 23, and the girl from 4 kicked the window in. After they received the sponsor gift, they disappeared. I can't find their trackers anywhere. The signal is jammed, or they've taken them out."

Idiots. I work with absolute idiots. Think Millicent think. You can't have this hanging over your head. If the word gets out about this it will surely be your head on the line. Two tributes missing from the arena, but what are the odds of them actually getting anywhere alive. That mask had enough battery in them to last an hour, if these girls are somewhere, odds are they drowned, or will drown, right? Better to presume them dead at this point. If all else fails I'll blame the carelessness of my assistant GameMakers.

"Fire two cannons, and congratulate the tributes on making it to the final 8. Tell them there will be a feast in their honor." I say. "Also, just for kicks, tell them they have five minutes to get to the center of the arena on the big island before their tracker explodes."

"Mam, they can't swim."

I roll my eyes and begin to pout. These damn outer districts ruin all my fun with their damn stipulations and limitations. If only all districts could be career districts.

"Fine, construct a pathway made of sand for each of them to follow. Tell them it's mandatory attendance or their tracker will explode."

"Can they actually explode?" ask my assistant interested.

"They don't know that idiot," I say rolling my eyes and walking over to the arena layout. I start pressing the buttons of the pop-up screen and dissolve three of the islands that we had for decoration around the arena. I watch as the giant mound deconstructs itself on my screen that I have in the arena and I drag it over to where the girl from District 2 is by the controls on the screen and spread the sound out to make a significant sand bridge that leads to the island that the sevens are on. Breaking apart the other island I drag it to the building where the other five outer districts are and make a longer bridge to get to the seven's island as well.

"Mam, the seven's are still on a building." says my assistant.

"Working on it, you dolt," I say

I move the building that the sevens are on to the right about a mile and a half, and then drop a new island there. They freak out as the move, but when they see the island they jump for it making it. I deconstruct the buildings that surround the islands and allow them to sink into the ground.

"This arena was so easy." says my assistant smiling as the cannons for the two girls sound.

"Yes, well, that's the beauty of working with wax my dear."

* * *

 _Everybody wants to go to heaven_

 _Have a mansion high above the clouds_

 _Everybody want to go to heaven_

 _But nobody wants to go now_

* * *

 **Eve Sumac, 18**

 **District 7 Female**

So in the past thirty minutes, I've seen enough water to make an ocean fall from the sky, a building is moved by seemingly nothing, giant sand bridges form, and an island plop down from the sky right in front of me. What the hell are these GameMakers smoking to have this much imagination?

"Are you okay?" ask Aspen as he lies down on the sand and tries to catch his breath.

"Yes I'm fine," I say looking at the sand bridges that are connected to our island, "but I see these bridges and, Aspen, I don't think we're going to be alone for long. We need to hide, or at least come up with a game plan."

"What do you think is going to happen next, Eve?" ask Aspen nervously.

I swallow hard because, to be honest, I'm not sure. I do know now that my biggest fear is finally here. I suspect that these bridges will lead to the other tributes coming and finding us on this island. I'm at a point in this game where I can genuinely win. We are in the top 10, and suddenly life is seeming a lot less, well, behind bars.

Two cannons fire and I jump in surprise. I wonder who bit the dust. We haven't even met up and people are dying. My bet is the District 3 female. She's kind of been dragged along this whole time, and if she was still alive I don't imagine her to be that good of a swimmer.

I see a group of people from far away walking towards our island. I look over at Aspen and see he has his eyes closed. Getting up, I haul ass to the back of it where there looks to be some sort of cave tree hiding place. Crawling between a rock and large tree trunk, I position myself to where I can still see the island bridges without fully exposing myself.

"Eve?!" called Aspen, "Where did you go?!" he yells as he is walking around the beach frantically looking for me. The group is getting closer and while I can't make out distinguishing properties I can see that there are three girls and two boys. I turn my head to the left and see a girl with dark skin walking, well, almost like she's limping over to the island. It's easy for me to make out that this is the girl from District 2. I wonder what happened to make her walk like that. When the group finally gets to the beach poor Aspen is sitting behind a bush. He looks terrified, but I'm finally able to make out the girl from 10, the pair from 5, the boy from 12, and the girl from 3!

I have no idea how that kid managed to make it at this point in the games, but she did. I consider her to be a threat at this point. Whether it's by her skills she's made it here, or her partner's, she's clearly had enough of whatever she has to make it here.

"Tributes! Congratulations on getting into the final 8!" A screen appears in the sky and a woman with blonde hair is smiling at us. "My name Millicent Hasselbrock and I'm the Head GameMaker of this year's Hunger Games. Tributes I'm impressed with every single one of you who have made it this far. Surviving my brain is never easy, even for me." she says with a chuckle. "Unfortunately, only one of you are coming out alive, and now is the time where we whittle the numbers down even further! Welcome to the feast! Here is how this will work. When I say go, there will be a competition. The person who kills the most people in that short time span will get a distinct advantage in our great finale! I'm very excited to see this happen, tributes!" she says. "Keep in mind that only four of you will make it to the finale. No more and no less. We will stop you when four of you have passed."

She smiles at us one last time.

"Good luck, tributes." she says, "and may the odds be ever in your favor!"

* * *

 _This isn't the end_

 _It's a chance to start again_

 _When the smoke clears you'll be home_

* * *

 **Pine Heart, 18**

 **District 5 Male**

"Good luck tributes, and may the odds be ever in your favor!" says Millicent as we stand around each other just taking everything in. "You know how we Capitolites like the dramatic effect, so let's just give it a second to give you time to form a strategy," she says. "I'll be back in a little bit to let you begin."

The girl from District 2 walks over to us, and Athena cowers behind Curie as she stands tall and strong. When the District 2 girl gets over to us she sticks her hand out and nods. "I figure if we're going to be fighting to the death in a matter of minutes we should at least know each other's name," she said. "My name is Rylan."

"Curie." says my district partner as she sticks her hand out and meets our rival. "This is Pine, and this is Athena," she says scooting to the side and showing Athena to Rylan. Rylan looks at Savannah and Douglas to introduce themselves, and after they do she nods at us and wishes us luck as she walks back to where she was and you can tell she's pumping herself up for a fight.

"What's the plan?" ask Curie

"Somewhere on this island is two other people," I whisper back. "If we want a shot at all three of us making the finale, we find those two and take them out, and take out Rylan and the boy from 12."

She nods and we begin to spread out across the island looking for the last two remaining tributes. We heard two cannons earlier, and we don't know if it belonged the pair from seven or the girls from 4 and 9. Savannah and Douglas must have realized by now that if they are to survive one of us have to die. I wonder which of us will be the one that they choose to attack.

* * *

 _Sometimes everything seems out of my reach_

 _No matter how hard I try_

 _Sometimes I feel like nothing at all inside_

* * *

 **Douglas Waters, 17**

 **District 12 Male**

The three that we met in the building walk off in a hurry towards different places on the island. I turn and look over at Savannah and she seems nervous, but at the same time content with the situation. I, however, have no intention of letting this moment be my last. I walk over to the District 2 girl, who I believe her name is Rylan and stick out my hand.

"We won't come for you, you don't come for us."

She nods and takes my hand as the others find the boy from District 7 behind a big plant. He looks scared, and like he's about to cry, but there is still no sign of the girl from seven.

"Tributes!" says Millicent. "The time is now! Let the games begin!"

With no hesitation, the girl from five wraps her hand around the boy from seven's head and snaps his neck. He falls to the ground with a cannon fire, and just like that I've made the top 7. Rylan charges at the girl from 5, but as she runs towards her the little girl from 3 kicks her in her thigh with the bandage on it, and Rylan goes down. The little girl runs away and I see the district 5 girls follow her. Rylan lies on the ground swearing and screaming in frustration as the girl from seven has been found.

* * *

 _Everybody's got a dark side_

 _Can you love me_

 _Can you love mine?_

* * *

 **Savannah Sage, 15**

 **District 10 Female**

 _God grant me peace throughout this stressful time…_

It's chaos. Everyone is running around trying to avoid others. Rylan is on the ground screaming and cursing, the pair from 5 just found the girl from seven, and now they're duking it out. I run over to Douglas who is trying to help Rylan up, but she doesn't seem to notice. I point at the group who is about to team up on the girl and I see an emotion change on his face.

He reaches down and grabs the sword that Rylan had before she fell. He takes two steps and hurls it in the direction of the group. It lands directly into the girl from 3's back. When she turns around the other end is poking through her chest. She falls to the ground and the other two fall to catch her. The girl from seven was able to sneak away and when she saw me and Douglas across the island she nodded in thanks.

The cannon sounds and we look at Curie and Pine who are hunched over the girl's body. It hurts my heart to see them in so much pain, but that doesn't stop me from wanting to make it as far as I can in this game.

"Who next?" I ask concerned.

The District 2 girl is still trying to get up. When she got kicked in the thigh it really took a lot out of her. Douglas turned and started walking towards her, and I thought he was going to help her up, but when he got there he kicked her in the face and she fell down again. He got on top of her and began choking her and I watched in horror. I've never seen Douglas this aggressive before. Something in him snapped, and all of a sudden he's gotten so aggressive.

These games really change people.

We all watch in silence as the girl from 2 tries to fight him off, but can't muster the energy to do so. Her cannon sounds and Douglas gets up and stares at everyone. He walks towards me, and I can't help but flinch in fear. What if he's done with me, or he sees me as a liability now?

I reach in my pocket and see the knife that I've been carrying the whole game is still in there. I take it out and place it in my hand.

 _He deserves this Savannah. He just killed two people in cold blood. He cannot leave these games._

"God forgive me!" I say as I reach up and stab the knife into Douglas' neck. He looks at me shocked as he coughs and a bunch of blood shoots off into my face. I cover my mouth and trembling I fall to the ground in tears.

"I'm so so sorry," I say over and over as I reach out and touch his hair. "I just...I just couldn't stand by what you did, and I-I-I don't know what came over me."

He looks me dead in the eyes and nods. "Win." he manages to get out before his cannon sounds.

"Tributes!" says Millicent's booming voice. "Congratulations on making our Final Four! Curie, Pine, Eve, and Savannah! Welcome to the finale! No one killed more people than the other, and because of that, no one will get our advantage! You would have liked it too!" says Millicent as she giggles to herself

The ground starts to shake, and I watch amazed as all of the water in the arena suddenly drains. A building crumbles to the ground to reveal the fire pillar that this city landscape has been missing. It burns extra intense as everything around us begins to sink.

The island is replaced with a rock of the same size, and instead of water surrounding us, it is now an ocean of fire. The rock begins to shake, and in the very middle of the rock shoots the fire pillar that was once on the opposite side of the city. I stare in disbelief as I'm watching all of these impossible things happen, and then a realization dawns on me.

 _Savannah, you're in hell._

 **Well, dang. Okay, so I'm like, super excited about this. I have so much to talk to you guys about and I'm not even sure if I'm ready to do it because I truly believe this story is the best I've written.**

 **With that being said I want to thank everyone who submitted, and a big congrats to my final 4! So congratulations to the submitters of Pine, Curie, Savannah, and Eve!**

 **Eulogies**

 **10th Place: Gretchen Creek "Kara Castille", District 9 Female, Presumed Dead (actually alive)- We knew Gretchen was getting out of this arena. If you didn't know you clearly weren't reading. When I got Gretchen she was one of those people that you just looked at her form and you thought, "yes, I could do something with her." She'll play part in my story after the games, and I'm really excited to show you what I have cooked up in my crazy mind for her.**

 **9th Place: Sailor Atkinson, District 4 Female, Presumed Dead (actually alive)- Sailor was my favorite tribute in the whole damn story. I just could not let her win. There was something in me that knew I wanted her for something more, but wasn't quite sure where she fit**. **The idea to allow her to escape with Gretchen came when Emerald died, and I realized I wasn't writing them at each other's throats. This probably came completely out of left field, but I'm unapologetic for it.**

 **8th Place: Aspen Marx, District 7 Male, Killed by Curie Ling- I'm not actually sure why I allowed Aspen to live this long. It wasn't anything against his character, and maybe it was because I knew subconsciously I couldn't have a final 10 of just girls and two boys. I needed some testosterone in the mix. Thanks for submitting Aspen! 8th Place isn't too bad, is it? :)**

 **7th Place: Athena Mistynl, District 3 Female, Killed by Douglas Waters- Athena was such a fun character. I loved, LOVED, that my District 3 tributes this year weren't boring af and annoying like normal. They had layers and they were fun to root for, or against. Platrium really took his time on both of these tributes and I am SO grateful for it. She will be missed, and I'm still really glad I got to write for her.**

 **6th Place: Rylan Spain, District 2 Female, Killed by Douglas Waters- There were two tributes when I got their form and I accepted them I automatically knew their placements. That was Rylan and the tribute who will get third place. Rylan had EVERYTHING to be a Victor. She wasn't a psycho from 2 out on killing everyone, but she had a purpose and a story that made you root for her. Sadly, she didn't win because I feel her winning would have been too predictable. She was an amazing character, and I loved writing her.**

 **5th Place: Douglas Waters, District 12 Male, Killed by Savannah Sage- Damn, it was honestly going to be Savannah right here. I don't know what to say other than the fact that I intended for you to make the finale. I intended for you to get second, and somehow along the way I just lost track of that. I started coming up with other story arcs for characters that I hadn't really thought about. I started getting really excited to write for certain people, and you fell into the background. I really liked you as a character. You were fun. I just hope that I did you justice.**

 **What do you think of the final 4? Who is the Victor? Are you curious about Sailor and Gretchen?**

 **Keep it classy,**

 **Caleb**


	29. The Finale

**Don't just skip down to the bottom.**

 **There are important things happening.**

 **Once again, thanks for reading.**

* * *

 _It's like a thousand piece puzzle falling from the sky_

 _Like the rain always falling with no sunshine_

 _Life has a way of hitting you when you least expect it_

 _Here's to second chances_

* * *

 **Sailor Atkinson, 17**

 **Technically a Dead Tribute**

So let's just go over the events that have taken place in my life the past week and four days shall we? I was voted into the games because my deadbeat slimy ass dad was a Victor, I made it to the top 10 in those games, and somehow managed to sneak out of the arena. Now I'm sitting in a top secret agency base for the Capitol's very own super spies. Somehow, even with every single card stacked against me, here I sit alive and breathing.

They've had me in a cell for the past...well, however long it's been since me and Kara, or whoever the hell she is, got out of the arena. I woke up to an ice pack and a note that said: _"everything will be made clear soon, get some rest kid."_ I'm not quite sure what to expect. I know that as I sit here I am completely at the mercy of the Capitol. Which is never something that you want to be at the mercy of.

The door to my cell clicks and Kara walks in. She's holding a pair of sweatpants and a new t-shirt for me to put on and she throws them to me when she closes the door behind her. She looks a mix of smiles and nerves but ultimately looks like she's relieved. She's showered, and her hair is pulled back in a long ponytail. Her face looks sullen worn, though, and I think that the effect of losing Gregory really hit her hard now that she's out of the arena.

"Hi." she says as she comes in and sits down on the edge of my bed.

"Hi," I respond as I get up and begin to take the dirty clothes off I've been wearing throughout the arena and changing into the new clothes she brought me. "Am I going to be able to shower? I feel disgusting."

"Soon." she says point blank.

She waits for me to finish changing and I sit back down on the bed. She scoots back on the bed where her back is against the wall and looks over to me and then begins to laugh.

"What's funny?" I ask confused

"Had you killed me when you wanted to, you'd be in the arena right now. Probably in the finale, but it's all outer districts at the current moment."

My face goes white. That means that Rylan has died, and that also means that for the first time in a long time that the careers are no longer on a winning streak. "Is there any way we can watch in here?" I hopeful.

She smiles and pulls out a small device from her pocket. "I thought you'd never ask," she says as she clicks on the screen. She flashes back to the feast and I see everything. The kills, the girl from five killing the boy from seven, the girl from seven barely escaping, District 12 boy losing his mind. This is one hell of a finale.

"Who would have thought," I say under my breath.

"Yeah, who would have thought."

She turns to me and you can tell she has a lot to say, she just isn't sure how to say it. I don't know who she is, or what she does, but she's good at it. If it wasn't for her I'd probably not be alive, not that she was trying to save me, but because of her connections I'm living and breathing right now. I just wish I knew for how much longer.

"We aren't going to kill you," she says

"Who's we?" I ask

"My superiors," she says. "The President."

I raise my eyebrows in confusion and then laugh. Of course, this has to come from higher ups. There is not another explanation. How can she pull off a move so big like leaving the games without having the President of Panem on her side? I knew he was in dirty politics, but I never imagined the grime being this deep.

"We've been around all 25 years," she says. "All coming from different backgrounds, most of them pretty crappy, and they use us. We all had one thing in common upon recruitment. We had nothing left to lose. I met Robert there, but you know him as Gregory," she pauses as she sucks her lip in and tears fall down her cheeks. "We fell in love," she says like it pains her to admit. "After that, we had a falling out over a mission we were on and asked to be separated. I've had 3 partners since then, and all of them have died in the field."

"Why are you telling me all of this?" I ask confused.

"Because, Sailor, they have decided for you to be my new partner,"

* * *

 _Gonna shout it from the mountaintops_

 _A star is born_

 _It's a time for pulling out the stops_

 _A star is born_

 _Honey hit us with a hallelu_

 _The kid came shining through_

 _Girl, sing the song_

 _Come blow your horn_

 _A star is born_

* * *

The tributes stood apart from one another one the rock staring back and forth. Not one of them wanted to make the first move, and not one of them couldn't taste the sense of victory that would come for one of them.

Savannah had hesitations, though. She just killed someone. Something she vowed going into this game she wouldn't do. She feared for not only her life but for her soul. Would God accept this answer that she panicked whenever she finally goes to meet him? Will he convict her for doing something so unspeakable?

She didn't even know if Douglas knew what Christianity was, and she was the first person to shove the knife in his neck that ended any chance of him knowing such a peace that she knew. Kneeling next to his body she wept for him. She knew that the life that she stole was one that was valuable, that had a purpose. Everyone in this arena had purpose.

Curie had enough of just standing. Waiting forever to start this fight was only going to push off the inevitable. Three of these people had to die for her to live, and as much as it broke her heart for Pine to be one of those three people, it is something that she knew had to be done.

"Hey!" Curie shouts at Savannah. "Stand up! You want to do something like that you own it. You don't sit there and wallow after."

Savannah couldn't look up, though. She just stared out at the ocean of fire that surrounded them as she was praying for forgiveness.

" _God please forgive me,"_ Savannah thought over and over again, " _I've done an unthinkable thing, but please, have mercy on your servant."_

"Hey!" shouted Curie again. "I said get up!"

Savannah continued to stay down, though. She just sat next to the dead boy from District 12 and stroked his hair.

Meanwhile, Eve stayed to the side of drama as she watched Curie begin marching over towards Savannah in a heated frenzy. She watched the District 5 boy carefully as he followed his District partner closely, but sure not to get in the way. Eve knew that if she wanted to win she had to strike at the right time. Very soon, if things went the way she expected them to, the girl from District 10 will join her fallen alliance member, and Eve would be left against two people from the same District.

Pine was nervous. Curie was acting irrationally. He had just seen the girl he has feelings for, granted no matter how outlandish they were, reach out and snap a boy's neck. Pine was scared of Curie, but he was also fascinated by her. There was something about the girl that was attractive to him. Her adventurous attitude, her snark and wit, her ability to go all out in whatever she did. It was all new for Pine.

But all Curie could think about was getting out of these games. Pine was great, and he was such a nice guy, and if she had met him back home she's sure they'd be together right now. But Curie knew where they were. She didn't lose sight of her common sense in this game. She had a moment of weakness where she kissed him, but that could never happen again.

Because in a matter of minutes one of them, if not both, were about to die.

When Curie got to Savannah, Savannah couldn't help but look up and smile. Not in an insane way or a cocky way, but a smile of understanding, and a smile that she knew what was about to happen. Savannah knew she wouldn't put up a fight. She knew she wouldn't be able to. So she sat there and did the one thing she knew how to do.

"I know what's about to happen," she says to Curie. The girl from District 5 stands over her with a determined look in her eye. "I want you to know that I'm not mad. I lasted a lot longer than I thought I would. I will ask you to make this quick." she says as she closes her eyes and waits for the blow.

Curie reaches down to where the boy from 12 lies and pulls the knife from his neck. She looks at Savannah and nods as she takes it plunges it into the girl's chest. Savannah takes a deep breath as she falls to the side to where her former ally is, and her cannon sounds off.

Eve knew that her time to strike was now. Running full speed at the pair from 5 she grips the knife that she's held in her hand since the feast started and jumps on top of the girl from 5's back. Eve knew that if she was going to beat someone out of these two, it would be the boy.

Curie falls to the ground as the girl from 7 relentless begins stabbing her in various places over her body. She screams out as the blade makes an impact with her body over and over again. Pine stands over the two in complete shock, but after a brief minute of hesitation he grabs Eve and throws her off of Curie. Eve stands up quickly and is poised to fight the boy from 5 as she readies for battle.

Pine runs at her with full speed as she swipes at him with her knife. It slices his rib cage, and he screams out in pain as Eve takes this opportunity to push him down to the ground. The two are close to the edge of the rocky platform they are on as Eve climbs up on him to deliver the last blow.

Pine knowing that the end is near from him closes his eyes and waits for the impact to come when he gets an idea. Seeing how close to the edge they are, he decides that he still has a chance to win this. Wiggling underneath the girl from 7 he gets one of his legs out from under her as she brings the knife down at his head. He jolts his head to the side and the knife makes impact with the rock. Using his free leg he kicks her in the chest sending her flying back.

Eve falls back off of him and onto her feet. She teeters on the edge of the rock when Pine jumps up and pushes her into the fiery lake. Her cannon sounds immediately, and a hovercraft comes to pick up the body before it burns to a crisp.

Pine runs over to Curie and puts her head in his lap. She is fading quickly, and she has a dim smile on her face.

"I always...knew...it would be...you." she says as her eyes glaze over and her head tilts to the side.

"PANEM!" screams Millicent Hasselbrock over the loud speaker. "I GIVE YOU YOUR VICTOR OF THE 25th GAMES! PINE HEART OF DISTRICT 5!"

Pine sits there with mouth slack jawed and heart broken. He looks down at the girl who got him into this mess in the first place and strokes her hair. "I'll always remember you, Curie Ling," he whispers to her.

A rope ladder falls from another hovercraft, and the Victor of the 25th games grabs ahold of it. When he does a current fills his body, and he is unable to move as the medical team pulls him up into the hovercraft. The inject him with a sedative, and the boy from District 5 falls into a deep sleep.

 **Well, did any of you see that coming? (Also, excuse my third person, I've never written in it before so if it sucks...well..oops. I wanted to keep you guessing on my Victor.)**

" **OMG CALEB HAS A BOY VICTOR WHAT?!" haha yeah. I was surprised by this ending to tbh. I loved this story and these characters so much so it was weird killing them off. I can only hope that during my next SYOT I can have characters as good as the ones you guys sent me.**

 **Final Eulogies**

 **4th Place: Savannah Sage, District 10 Female, Killed by Curie Ling- Babe, Savannah was a great character. I loved writing her because honestly, I could relate so much to her. The only way Savannah would have been able to win though is if something crazy happened and everyone else fell into the fire themselves. I used her as a chance to show God's mercy and forgiveness and I think you'd appreciate that.**

 **3rd Place: Eve Sumac, District 7 Female, Killed by Pine Heart- I mentioned this in Rylan's POV, but I knew Eve was getting third place the minute I got her form. Her survivor mentality, and her overall just BA-ness was incredible for me to write. She was so much fun, and Abby, you really brought your A-Game creating Eve! Thanks for submitting.**

 **2nd Place: Curie Ling, District 5 Female, Killed by Eve Sumac- I went back and forth for forever with Pine and Curie. I actually changed my Victor three times in the process of writing this chapter. She didn't lose because she was a female, but in order to explain why Curie was 2nd and not Victor, I'll jump to Pine.**

 **Victor: Pine Heart, District 5 Male, Winner of the 25th Games- For starters, I want to say congratulations to AmericanPi for submitting Pine. He was such a loveable character. In the end, it came down to story arcs. I have a specific story arc in mind for Pine that involves some familiar faces from this story. Curie in the equation I saw was just not fitting as well as Pine did. So I gave him the spot. It also helps that he's an amazingly well thought out character that I loved writing for.**

 **I'm literally laughing my butt off because I told myself I'd never have a Victor from 5. I hate District 5. Jokes on me I guess.**

 **There's still more to this story. Not sure if I want to do one giant chapter, or just leave it in pieces. Let me know in comments?**

 **Keep it classy,**

 **Caleb**


	30. Happily Ever After?

**Though I wanted this to get 400 reviews,**

 **This will be the final chapter in this story.**

 **Thank you for those who have read and stayed with me**

 **I'll see you for the sequel.**

* * *

 _These things will change_

 _I can see it now_

 _These walls that they put up to hold us back_

 _Will fall down_

* * *

 **Cassidee Schapp, 29**

 **Prisoner of the Bureau**

So I know I should absolutely hate these people for what they've done to me. For keeping me as a prisoner, for making me poise as Katherine, for making me actually do manual labor. But I can't. This family is so special. There is something about these people that make me want to help them. The way Clyde talks about Katherine and the way Alma misses her mom is something that I hope one day I can have.

We are sitting around the table having one of our family dinners. At first, these were so awkward, but now Clyde and I are at the point where we can talk about our days and it not be weird. I know all of the gossips from the plant, and he knows all of the secret patient stuff from the hospital.

Honestly, how no one has put together I'm not Katherine is beyond me. Not only was I totally clueless as to how to run an emergency room, I was absolutely nowhere near the level of professionality that she had, nor the patience I had to oversee a colonoscopy, and I'm probably never going to be able to not laugh thinking about that.

"So what did you do today?" ask Clyde as he takes a bite of chicken soup. Alma helped him cook tonight, and she was very diligent about wanting to help her Daddy. She smiled brightly as she looks up at me with her spoon still in her mouth allowing soup to get all over her lap.

"Oops," she says to herself as she begins to wipe it off with a napkin. Clyde laughs as she gets up and flicks him on the nose. "That wasn't very nice, Daddy," she says sternly.

"Sometimes I forget who the parent is." says Clyde as he rolls his eyes.

"But what did you do today, Cass?" Alma ask me as she takes another bite of soup. This time not opening her mouth after she has the contents in. She swallows and looks at me again, "did you do another colaospie?" she ask

I giggle as I play with my soup in my spoon. "No, I didn't do another colonoscopy," I say continuing to laugh. "I did, however, get treat someone with the chicken pocks. So mind your hands, and make sure you're washing them, Alma."

"Yes mam," she says as she finishes off her soup and brings it to the sink. She runs off to her room. She stops at the couch and grabs her doll off of it since her Dad doesn't allow them at the table. She drags her friend along the ground next to her as her door closes behind her.

"What's up, Cass?" ask Clyde. "Something wrong?"

"You've just been so kind to me. I don't deserve it, and I certainly don't think that when this switch happens, or if I ever get to go back, that I'll ever be able to forget you guys."

"Well, if you don't get to go back, you're always welcome here," says Clyde smiling. "You're family now."

Something about those words strikes a nerve as they have never been said to me before. I've never felt genuinely included. My parents weren't the best, my family as the whole kind of sucked. So hearing that from such a functional family is, well, priceless.

"CASSIDEE!" screams Jada's voice as from somewhere in the livingroom.

"Did you hear that?" I ask looking at Clyde.

"Cassidee! SOS come into the living room!"

Clyde and I get up and run into the living room. We see Jada on the screen, and she looks scared.

"How did you do that?" I ask confused.

"Don't worry about that. Tell Elijah that there is a knife in the center of the target. We're moving in today, and we can't wait any longer. He stopped responding and we don't know where he is."

"Copy. I'll take care of it." I say as I run out of the room and towards the front door.

"Cassidee?" ask Clyde

"Yes?" I say looking back at him,

"Be careful."

"I will," I say as I grab my gun from the inside drawer of the front table and head out the door.

* * *

 _Watch you back around here_

 _People's knives run deep_

 _A blade for you, and one for me_

 _All bonded in a wave of deceit_

* * *

 **Jada Mastiff**

 **CEO of J &A Media**

The President's house is not somewhere that I'm unaccustomed too. Having your sister as the first lady has it's perks to it. The only problem is Amber is out at a charity show, and I'm technically not allowed to be here when she isn't.

So naturally, hair extensions.

Walking into the house the maids and the servants greet me at the door. They try and take my purse from me, but I decline the offer. I need the vile that is in there, and it would look too suspicious to take it out of there.

"Sweetheart?" I turn and see my brother in law walking towards me. He smiles and gives me a hug and a deep passionate kiss. It takes everything in my power not to throw up, but I can manage. I can't imagine how intense this has to be for Amber normally, so I can take a little disgust now.

When he decides we have kissed enough he pulls away and grabs my hand and motions for me to follow him. He leads us to his study, which is a room that is lined with bookshelves from wall to wall. Countless numbers of books line this area, and there is a red mahogany desk sitting in the very center of the room next to the window. On the side of the room, and against the right bookshelf there is a table with a bunch of alcoholic beverages on it. Directly in the center of the room sits two couches. He leads me over to the couches and then asks me to sit down.

"How was the show?" he asks me curiously.

"You know," I say, "Boring. Like usual. Patsy never shuts up and always wants to know what's going on inside the big Presidential Mansion."

"Good Ol' Patsy." he says as he sits back and relaxes.

"So why did you lead me in here?" I ask curiously. "You never invite me into your study."

"Because, Jada" he begins

 _Oh shit._

"Can't a president have a talk with his dear sister in law?"

* * *

 _Deep in a lie is always some truth_

 _Deep in a truth lies emotions_

 _Deep in emotions reveals a person_

 _Deep in a person reveals secrets_

* * *

 **Cassidee Schapp, 29**

 **Prisoner of the Bureau**

I feel uneasy of all of this, there is something seriously wrong going on right now. I've always trusted my gut. I always know when something is up. Granted it didn't help me much while I was here getting kidnapped, but I knew something was up and almost killed Elijah didn't I?

I begin my stroll down to the basement headquarters. I'm careful not to attract too much attention because I know it's restricted, but I actually need to hurry so this sucks. I walk down the long hallway where people normally are, and when I round the corner to the next one I sprint down the hallway. As I run I turn around to make sure no one is following me, only to run directly into someone.

"What the hell were you thinking?!" I scream as I stand up and begin dusting myself off.

"Glad to know you're keeping my reputation so sparkly and clean."

"Katherine?!" I say. "Why aren't you in the Cap-"

"Something is wrong," she says cutting me off. "Jada had this plan, but it didn't feel right to me, so I told her I didn't want a part in it, and she told me to go ahead and come home. I just arrived no less than an hour, and I wanted to see Elijah, to make sure everything was okay."

"So what's wrong then? I don't see an issue." I say

"Snow knows it's Jada."

* * *

 _What's happening to me?_

 _Trapped in a scene_

 _My web of tangled lies is catching up to me._

* * *

 **Jada Mastiff**

 **CEO of J &A Media**

"What do you mean, Jada?" I ask confused. "Babe, you'd think you would know your own wife."

"Oh, I do Jada," he says very sternly. "The moment you kissed me I knew who you were. Amber is much more aggressive," he says kind of cocky. "But I must say if it wasn't for that kiss I'd not have known it was you. Very impressive. Those hair extensions are rather good." he says as he gets up from the couch and unclips one of them. "Now," he throws the hair extension on the couch next to me and walks over to the alcohol table and pours two scotches. "Tell me, why are you sneaking in as your sister."

He brings back a glass of scotch for both of us and sits it on the table. He walks towards the window and looks out at the city that surrounds the mansion. Snow is a smart man, he knows that me coming here on my own was no accident and that I need something.

While his back is turned I pull vial out of my purse and pour it into his glass of scotch. He turns right as I'm dropping the vial back into my purse.

"I'm assuming you need a story?" he asks. "Why didn't you just ask me? I would have done it for you. We're family."

I can't tell if he's playing me or if he's actually sincere when he ask this stupid question. I can't believe how this is turning out because it's one of those things that are too good to be true. I have to play along with this, at least until he drinks the contents in the glass.

"I needed to borrow a dress and Amber told me I couldn't," I say. "We were having a giant company party, and all of my dresses just don't fit the occasion," I say. "Besides now that the games are done people have stopped sending me free things to wear and advertise, and it's way too late in the game to go out and buy a-"

The door opens and Amber walks into the room. Her eyes bug out when she sees me because I was supposed to be gone by now.

Snow was also supposed to be dead by now.

* * *

 _I've lost my mind somewhere in the clouds_

 _You took off running_

 _Help, I'm falling down_

* * *

 **Katherine Farrow**

 **Special Agent for the Bureau/Victor of the 17th Annual Games**

Cassidee and I arrive at the elevator to where the headquarters are. As I swipe my card and the doors open, I have an uneasy feeling. Something about stepping on this elevator lets me know that something bad is about to go wrong. This is a feeling I know all too well about.

The elevator door opens, and we still have one more hallway before we enter into the room when we hear a familiar voice.

"So what do we do about the Mercay sisters?" ask a female coming from inside the headquarters room.

"We tip off Snow and have them killed. We don't need them to be in power. Snow is the true ruler of Panem. Everyone just needs to accept that." says Elijah very blatantly.

"Something tells me we shouldn't go in there.." I whisper as I look around this hallway. I see an air vent on the other end of the hall and indicate Cassidee to give me a boost.

"And how am I supposed to get up there?" she whispers back hostile.

"You don't," I respond calmly. "Hide, they'll come out at random."

I climb through the air shaft, and I look for an opening in the headquarters. I take a sharp right, and I'm directly above Elijah Delgadillo and Princess. She sits with her hair pulled back and a red flower in her hair. She smiles as her feet are up on the table and Elijah is doing the same.

"So when do you get to get out of this stupid hell hole?" she asks me.

"The agency told me my checking in on Katherine was a success, and the Bureau agents who are in the Capitol are no more. Long live the SGA" he says as he picks up a wine glass on the table.

"Long live the SGA," she says leaning across her table and clanging her glass to his. They begin to take a sip of their wine when Cassidee busts into the room holding a gun. She points it at both of them and looks a little trigger happy.

"This dumb bitch," I whisper to myself as I roll my eyes and kick out the air vent. I fall onto the table where the two were drinking and they look exceptionally shocked. Princess is the first person to react whilst she pulls a gun from under her dress and aims it at me.

"Shoot, and I kill her." she says to Cassidee.

"Pull the trigger." says Cassidee sternly.

She better have a really good poker face.

* * *

 _Suddenly a flash of light springs from the darkness_

 _All your hard work accomplished_

 _All your mistakes erased_

* * *

 **Amber Mastiff**

 **First lady of Panem**

Snow was supposed to be dead by now, and the rest of the plan should have already been enacted. Jada sits there awkwardly staring back at me with an eye full of shock. I notice her hands move and she points to the dress that she was wearing, and a fist. I instantly have a flashback to when we were teenagers and she would always steal my clothes.

"I told you, you can't borrow the dress, Jada."

"I told you I needed it, Amber." she responds back hostile.

"Now ladies," says Snow as he walks over to the table and drinks a cup of scotch. Jada looks back at the table and then blinks twice and smirks. Any minute now, "There is a simple solution to all of this. Have the servants make Jada a new-"

His face turns purple and he begins to fall over on his knees. He looks around the room confused and then back at the cup of scotch.

"W-w-w-why." he manages to stutter out before he falls on his back.

"Because we're Mercays," says Jada as I move to stand over him with her. She smiles as she says this next part of the story. "And you did us dirty," she adds as she turns away and begins to pull out her hair extensions.

"M-m-my w-w-ife?" he asks confused looking at me.

"Enjoy hell, Snow," I say as I walk over to the desk and turn and face the inside of the study. He stops breathing and his head tilts to the side. Jada bends down to touch his wrist to see if he has a pulse and then smiles and nods.

"Cool, get the camera."

Jada pulls out her tiny camera and points it at me. "This will go live on every tv screen in Panem in 4, 3, 2" she holds up a 1 and points at me.

"Hello Panem," I say. "A lot of you know me as the first lady Amber Mastiff-Snow, but there is a story that was left untold over 9 years ago." I begin. "My family was brutally murdered by President Snow, and today I regret to inform the nation that as of today, President Snow is dead," I say. "As acting first lady it is my duty to take over the country until the new President is found, but I say to hell with that. We have the opportunity to make right the wrongs that our country was committed to so long ago. As you go and decide to on who you want this next President to be, think long and hard about the success the nation had when under the Mercay name. This is President Amber Mercay, have a great night Panem."

* * *

 _No wonder your heart feels it's flying_

 _Your head feels it's spinning_

 _Each happy ending's a brand new beginning_

 _Let yourself be enchanted, you just might break through_

* * *

 **Katherine Farrow**

 **Victor of the 17th Games**

Princess points her gun at me and doesn't seem to budge. I look over at Elijah who has his hands up in the air and then back to Cassidee who was stone-faced as she held the gun pointed at Princess. Cassidee catches my eyes and starts to motion for me to sink down quickly with her other hand. Both Elijah and Princess are looking at me, and with her free hand, she begins a countdown. She gets down to zero and I dive off the table.

Princess fires a shot at me and misses as Cassidee sends a bullet into her head. She falls on the table as Elijah turns and runs out of the room. We follow him out into the hallway, but when we get there he is gone.

"Pull the trigger?!" I say looking at Cassidee when I see that there is no way we find Elijah.

"It was a bluff, calm down drama queen." she says with a sly smirk.

Knowing that someone like Elijah is out on the loose is something that scares me. Especially with President Snow still in power.

"Hello Panem,"

Amber appears on my television screen, and to my amazement, she tells me that Snow is dead. I fall down to my knees because for the longest time I've been at odds with this man, and now I'm able to breathe a sigh of relief knowing that my daughter will never have to deal with the likes of the notorious President Snow.

"Come on," says Cassidee as she holds her hand out to me. "I know there's someone who wants to see you.

* * *

 _ **-6 years later-**_

* * *

"Alma! You're going to be late to the academy!" I shout from the bottom of my house in the Victor village of District 1.

"Mom, we both know that no matter what time I get there I'm still going to be the best!" she says proudly as she strolls down the stairs. She truly is beautiful, her long brown hair, and dark colored eyes. She looks almost exactly like me when I was that age.

"Doesn't matter," I say. "And remember the best always doesn't win the Hunger Games," I tell her. "I was never the best, but I still won."

"You're crafty, mom, it's different," she says as she rolls her eyes and walks into the kitchen to grab an orange from the bowl in the center of our dinner table. "I'll see you this afternoon," she says.

She walks out of the door and I can't help but smile.

Amber tried getting rid of the Hunger Games, but there was to much pressure from the founding members of the board of directors for the country to keep them. I would never let Alma volunteer, and since I'm in with the dean I know she never will, but it's nice that she has something she's so passionate about.

"Honey, I'm leaving too," says Clyde as he comes up and kisses me on the cheek. "I'll see you this evening." he stops before turning the doorknob and turns back to me. "Oh, and happy anniversary," he says with a wink as he opens the door and hustles out of the house.

Well, it's taken a solid 33 years, but everything in my life has worked out for the better, and I can honestly say, without a shadow of a doubt that I am truly happy.

I walk back into the large house, that is way too big for all three of us, and sit down on the couch. The beauty of being friends with the President is that there are special privileges that go along with it. I pull out the cell phone that Jada and Amber had made for me, almost like it was planned, my phone goes buzzing as soon as I unlock it.

I open up the message that I just received and see it's from Cassidee.

 _Kat, SOS. This isn't a drill. We need you immediately. Something...something awful has happened._

So much for happily ever after.

 **So this is weird putting a cap on this story. I would never have expected being done with it as soon as I was, and especially with finals and everything that I'm dealing with in real life, but here it is. My 9th SYOT over and done with.**

 **The prequel will be up later on this evening or mid tomorrow morning. It's taking place 6 years in the future, and no, Alma will not be in these games. I'll have the form up when I post the Prologue, just be looking.**

 **Thank you for being apart of the best story I've ever written, and for the last time this story:**

 **Keep it classy,**

 **Caleb**


End file.
